The 72nd Hunger Games
by dannnnzzzz
Summary: Daniel is more than your typical Career. He's trained more than most people have, but competing was never his plan. Now he must fight to the death in hopes of returning home. And new Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane is bound to put the tributes in a deadly arena! Follow Daniel Blackthorne in his journey of life and death. I'm bad at summaries. It's a whole lot better than it sounds!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello, there! This is my own Hunger Games story and, by the way, I am new to the site so the story might start out bad. But I promise it will get better. Please feel free to leave constructive critisism. Hope you enjoy.**

"Daniel. Wake up." whispers my father while shaking me awake. I open my eyes and see the iridescent sunlight flowing into my window. I sit up and see that it's almost ten in the morning. "Wake up. We need to do some last minute training before the Reaping." says my father.

"Okay. I'll meet you down at the beach in an hour, Dad." I mumble, still trying to fully awaken. My father quietly exits the room and I hear the front door close.

Today is Reaping day for the 72nd Annual Hunger Games. Today is the day a new set of tributes are chosen to go into the arena. The Reaping doesn't begin until three here in District 4 so I decide to train with my dad, like always, until then.

I strap on my shoes, splash water on my face, and head to the beach with the same clothes I fell asleep in. On my way out I grab the yellow apple that sits on our table and looks as if it will rot at any moment. I close the wooden door behind me quietly. I don't want to awaken my mom.

Here in District 4, I've never had much problems in life. I've always had food on my table and a roof over my head. This is the same for the majority of the district. Kids here train for The Games. Some seek fame and fortune but the majority of us do it to insure a return home.

This is my case. I have trained for The Games since I was 6. I'm 16 now and I'm not your typical Career. Though I do go to The Academy every day, I also train with my dad. Just like most of the people in the district, my dad spends his days as a fisherman, but he also is an instructor at The Academy. The Academy is the training facility that produces the Career tributes of District 4. My dad teaches me things that The Academy doesn't, and only me. Kids there usually learn to work a few weapons and train with those for years to master them. With my father I also learn survival skills. He has taught how to hunt and gather, how to heal myself with nothing but the earth and how to use a broad variety of weapons. Don't get me wrong. While I do possess many amazing skills, I have no desire of being Tribute and even if I did, my father would never allow it.

I walk for about ten minutes eating my apple, savoring the bittersweet taste before tossing it aside, when I reach The Academy. I look into the windows that make up the western wall of the building and see my friends Jarrah and Fennell inside. Jarrah is a tall, muscular guy with red hair and light blue eyes. A guy my age that I could probably call my closest friend. Though he isn't bad looking, he's never had much luck with girls. Fennell is about five feet tall, tan skin and dark eyes and hair. I knock on the window and they turn to see me, smiles exploding across their faces. I run inside to greet them.

"Daniel!" shrieks Fennell as she jumps on me to give me a hug. I almost fall back but Jarrah manages to catch my back.

"So you guys are getting some last minute training?" I ask, watching Jarrah spear a dummy through the head from five yards away.

"Yeah, you know. Just in case." replies Jarrah. "You can never be sure who's going in. Especially now that no volunteers are allowed."

Last year during the reaping in District 2 several kids volunteered. When one was finally chosen, a riot broke out that ended with about 30 people being shot. As punishment, no volunteering is allowed this year. I have no idea what could have brought on the riot, but it must have been something big to create the scene it did.

"Well if one of us does end up going, I hope it's not too difficult getting sponsors." says Fennell.

"How hard can it be?" I remark.

"That's easy for you to say! Just look at you!" Fennell screams with a half smile on her face.

I suppose getting someone to sponsor me wouldn't be much of a task for me. The Capitol does fall hard for anyone that's good looking. I have tan skin, dark brown hair, dimples that stretch across my cheeks and eyes that are green with a splash of bronze at their center. Being raised by the beach has built me into a muscular guy. And I always find people making me the center of attention. But to me looks have never meant much.

After about half an hour of chatting away the morning I say goodbye to Jarrah and Fennell and continue on my path to the beach where I will meet up with my dad.  
The morning breeze at this time of year is lovely, but it doesn't keep that worry out of my head. Without any volunteers there is no guarantee that I, or anyone I care about, will end up as tribute.

I reach the beach and remove my shoes, letting the smooth sand tickle my bear feet. My father is waiting at a station he has set up with many different weapons on one side and a stack of books on the other. "Morning, Dad!" I say.

"Hey, Daniel. Are you ready for some training?" he asks.

"Of course. Just like every morning." I say. I usually train with my dad in the mornings. During the day, school is my priority. But in the evenings I have training at The Academy. Once in a while I decide to ditch one of the three to have time to myself.

"Good. Don't want you ending up like my brother if it comes down to it, do we?" my dad says. His voice so calmed and mellow, as if it doesn't even bother him. I guess that's what happens when you grow up with a Career mindset. He has told me the stories before. How his brother volunteered for the Games. Half way through, the other Careers turned on him and tortured him, cutting away body piece by body piece, until death crept up on him. His demise televised for everyone to see. This is why my father doesn't want me being a part of the Games and quite frankly, after years of watching them myself, I have no craving for them either.

"It's okay Dad. I doubt I'll ever be reaped." I assure him. And it's true. With such a large population, I doubt I have too much to worry about. My dad simply clears his throat and we begin training.

I begin with the weapons. I throw several axes, knives, spears and tridents around. They find its target every time. I also train with swords and daggers. I'm pretty confident that I can use almost every weapon I'm handed. I even spend time making my own deadly weapons out of materials from the beach, such as stones and wood. After hours of training, my father has me running and swimming around the beach. I don't tire easily but the waves today are pretty strong and it's difficult swimming against the current, and the fact that several girls gather to watch doesn't help me much either. Though I have a very nice body, I'm extremely shy when it comes to exposing it. Very rarely do I like to show off.

In no time I find myself reading about different plants and wild life. I pay attention to every detail of the page, knowing that anything missed could be the difference between life and death. By the end of the morning I am exhausted.

"So you had fun today, Daniel?" jokes my dad.

"So much fun!" I make sure the sarcasm comes through as I lay on the sand.

My dad just laughs and tells me I can go home now. Before I leave I get a few pieces of rope that used to hold all the weapons together and head home. I tie several knots to keep my mind from thinking about the Reaping but the frightening thoughts end up invading it anyway. What if I do get reaped? What if I end up like my father's brother? My death would end up being televised for my family to see. But what do I have to worry about? My chances of being chosen are slim. And besides, I've trained more than most people! I've survived past years by letting idiots volunteer, but now there's nothing keeping me safe. These thoughts consume my mind for the rest of my walk.

When I reach home I take a warm shower. As the filth washes away, I can help but wonder if the outlining districts have showers like us. I wonder how the showers in the Capitol are. I've heard many appealing rumors about them.

I exit the shower and quickly dry myself. I find my reaping clothes within my closet. My mom has left me a white, long-sleeve, collar shirt, fitted jeans and what she calls my "party" shoes. Shoes that I am to only wear on special occasions. I quickly dress and comb my hair. I head into the kitchen where my mother is already eating breakfast.

"Morning, Mom." I say with a bright smile on my face. I plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Morning? It's past noon. Where's your dad?" Mom asks

"Down at the beach. We were training but we finished and he stayed behind." I answer. "What time is it?"

My mom gives her wrist watch a quick glance. "One-thirty."

"Well I guess I'll get going." I say.

"Why so soon?" my mom asks.

"I'm meeting up with Jarrah and Fennell at The Academy and heading to the Reaping from there."

I give my mother the remained of my breakfast and escape back into the streets. When I reach The Academy, I find them ready. Fennell is in green dress with puffy shoulders. Jarrah is wearing a green button-up shirt that might possibly look better if he had tucked it in.

We walk together towards the town square, which takes up the space of four-hundred square yards, where the reaping will occur, but not many words are exchanged on the way there. I guess we all have the same worries of not going home after this. As we enter the square, I see all the bright banners with the Capitol Seal and what I assume are hundreds of cameras being set up on roof tops. Usually the square is pretty noisy, even on Reaping Day. But this year everyone is silent. People sign in and head towards the section for their age group. Older kids in the front, the younger ones in the back. Jarrah, Fennell and I get in line and soon reach the front. When it's my turn, I hand my finger to the waiting Peacekeeper and he pricks me so hard that I jump.

The Peacekeepers in District 4 are usually pretty mellow but once they are crossed, they become inhumane. There was a guy that got into a fight with several Peacekeepers at one of the bars here in the square a few years ago. As punishment, the Peacekeepers hung him upside down and sawed his body in half, staring between his legs, at a public execution. Being upside down kept his blood going to his brain and kept him alive longer. His body was then put out in front of the Justice Building as a warning to the rest of us.

After about an hour of waiting, I reach the roped area with the rest of the 16-year-old boys and stand next to Jarrah. Though we don't exchange words, I know we're both shoving the worry to the back of our minds. My thoughts begin to get murky with fear. I barely have time to clear my mind when I see four people exit the Justice Building and take a seat on the stage. My heart begins to race and I think to myself, _Let the 72nd Hunger Games begin_.


	2. Chapter 2

The first person that emerges from the Justice Building is Mayor Seaborn. The man who has ran this district for the last twenty-two years. He is soon followed by Tatiana Holloway, the District 4 escort, Finnick and Mags, two of District 4's past victors who are this year's mentors. They all take a seat on stage and talk amongst themselves.

When the clock strikes three, the mayor approaches the podium and begins to read the history of Panem. After years of hearing the same speech over and over again, I manage to tune it out. Though I turn to look at Jarrah and notice he's paying close attention. Mayor Seaborn talks about how Panem rose from the ashes of what was once called North America. A shining Capitol ringed by thirteen districts. How twelve districts were defeated and the thirteen destroyed during the Dark Days. That gave us the Treaty of Treason which installed the Hunger Games. It's the same speech every year.

The idea of taking children and making the fight to the death sickens me. It is one of the many reasons why I loathe The Capitol. So many of us here do. Those people are nothing but sadistic freaks. Just look at Tatiana. She's pretty monstrous looking. Her puffy blue wig. Her green dress that is filled with pointy ends. Her high heels that seem to be missing the heel. And the tons of horrid make-up that cover her face and arms.

When the mayor finishes his speech, he reads out the list of past victors. Finnick and Mags' names are read and the crowd cheers them on. Many more names are said before Mayor Seaborn hands the stage over to Tatiana Holloway. She walks in those dreadful heels with no problem.

"Welcome everybody!" Tatiana says. "Welcome! Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" By now, this has to be the official slogan of the Games. Tatiana recites a speech about how District 4 is her favorite. It probably is. She's been our escort for the past eight years. And many people here actually like her too. I fall into the small group that doesn't consider her all that great. "Shall we begin?" Tatiana looks on to the crowd as if we are her biggest fans. This woman sure has an ego on her. "Ladies first."

Tatiana jogs to the far right to the stage where a giant glass ball with all of the girls' names. I am truly frightened that she might trip on those heels and fall of the stage. She reaches in and let's her hand wander for about ten seconds until she finally pulls out a slip of paper. I look into several girls' faces. Most seem calm but there are few that seem as if they will burst into tears. Whether it'd be over excitement or fear is still to be determined. I look over at Fennell and see Rosalie standing next to her.

Rosalie is also a sixteen-year-old. She has long hair that seems to be a cross between blond and brunette. She is one of the brutal girls in The Academy. I've seen her take down several girls at the same time in training. Her plans were to volunteer someday.

A couple rows ahead of me I see Arcas, Rosalie's older brother who had the same idea. He could pretty much be her twin. There's talk going around that he truly wishes to be reaped this year as it is his last. Arcas and Rosalie are the kind of people that you would expect came from District 1 or 2. Violent and cruel.

Tatiana crosses back to the podium. She smoothes the slip of paper, takes in a deep breath and reads out the name, "Alice Escalus!" A beautiful blond girl with dark blue eyes and tan skin makes her way up to the stage, smiling and waving in the direction of every camera. I wonder if this is what she wanted. To be whisked away into a small life of glamour before being slaughtered.

I don't know much about Alice. I've seen her around in The Academy and at school and know that this was her last year in both. I know she's two years older than me and that her father works as a fisherman aboard the same boat my dad does.

Alice greets Tatiana, not with a handshake, but with a hug, which takes Tatiana by surprise. They say something to each other and have a quick laugh. Alice then takes her place a couple feet behind Tatiana.

"What a lovely young lady!" Tatiana gushes. She continues giggling and I can't help but to smile at the sight of her laughing. How ridiculous she looks giggling around. "One can only hope that the boy tribute is just as charming!"

Tatiana walks towards the glass ball with the boys' names still chuckling. She spends a few moments maneuvering her hand around, humming a cheerful tone until she pulls out a slip. Immediately, I begin relaxing. _I'm safe_, I think to myself. But what if Jarrah is chosen. What if anyone else I care about is chosen? I'll have no choice but to watch them suffer. Tatiana smoothes out the paper, as she did the first, and takes a deep breath. Her face cuts from ear to ear and she reads out the name. "Daniel Blackthorne!"

I feel the warmth in my body escape. A thousand eyes stare in my direction. I turn to Jarrah and he only looks at the ground. I look around and see Arcas leering at me. I know he wanted this badly. I wish it was his name called instead of mine. Though fear sets in, I try my best not to let it show. My father always told me that showing fear is showing weakness. And if I were to burst into tears now, I'm sure no one would want to sponsor me. So I decide to do the same thing Alice did. I put on my winning smile, the one that so many people fall in love with and make my way to the stage.

I see Tatiana staring at me as I mount the stage. Her eyes are glued on me. My looks have mesmerized her, just like they do everyone I meet. But she wants to see if I'll be what she expects. I grab her right hand and plant a soft kiss on it. "Nice to meet you, Tatiana." I say making sure to keep up this winning smile. Tatiana nearly faints.

"Oh my! Handsome and a gentleman!" Tatiana compliments.

I take my place next to Alice. I look into her eyes and she gives me a smile. Not one that greets me, but one that tells me I've done a good job. As the major darts back to the podium, my eyes wonder into the crowd. I try to find my family but instead I find several different people crying. The girls from the beach. Of course. After Mayor Seaborn finishes reading the Treaty of Treason, he tells us to shake hands. Alice's are warm and soft and give me a confident squeeze. I do the same and we turn back to face the crowd as the anthem of Panem plays. The moment the anthem ends, Alice and I are taken into the Justice Building by several Peacekeepers. Tatiana, Finnick, Mags, and the mayor follow us inside but head in a different direction. The Peacekeepers escort me into a room and leave me alone. The room is actually pretty nice. The floors have white stone tiles with a red carpet in the center of the room. Several different ornaments hang on the walls and the window has a beautiful view of the beach. Oh how I'll miss District 4.

I'm about to get up and wonder the room when the door opens, startling me. I fall back into my chair. My family walks in. I run to them and hug them as thing might be the last time I get to do so. My dad sits me back down and begins speaking. "I know you'll come back. You've trained all your life. Even more than most Careers!" I keep calm. It's true. I am more prepared than most people ever will be!

"Daniel. We believe in you. I expect you to come back rich and famous, okay? Make us proud." my mother says. She _is_ the typical Career mother. Proudly rooting for her kid until the child dies.

We spend the remainder of the time cuddled together. A Peacekeeper enters the room and forces them out. I so badly want to follow them. To escape the horror of the Games. But it's impossible.

I sit alone for about ten minutes, wiping away any signs of weakness that could be on face. Jarrah and Fennell soon burst through the door. Both of them try to keep from breaking.

"Daniel, I'm so sorry this happened to you. If I could do anything to fix it I would." Fennell whispers, stroking her soft brown hair.

"Promise us you'll try your best to come back!" yells Jarrah, anxiety in his voice.

"Don't worry. I promise. Like I told my parents, I have been training most of my life." I say confidently. I don't really know what else to say. I guess right now would be the best time to tell them how much I appreciate them. How much I love them, as if they were my own siblings. But I can't. My thoughts barely make sense at the moment and I can't think straight. All I'm worried about is coming back home. Just like with my parents, we sit in silence and wait for the end. Peacekeepers come in and take them away. I give them both a final goodbye.

I suspect I've been in the Justice Building for about forty five minutes. Any moment now the Peacekeepers will storm in here and drag me into the Capitol train.

The door knob turns and I suspect it's them, but in comes Arcas. I didn't expect to see him here. He comes in and sits in front of me. Not a word leave his mouth. He stares at me with an irascible look in his eyes that makes me think he'll attack me at any given moment. I take a deep breath and start the conversation.

"So what do you want?" I spit out harsher than I mean.

"I just came by to wish you luck." He responds.

"Oh. Well thanks." There is a minute of silence.

"You wanted to be the tribute, didn't you?" I finally ask.

"Yes. You have no idea how much I want to kill you right now!" He laughs.

Though it's meant as a joke, I know that if Arcas ever got the chance, he probably would attempt to kill me, especially now. He has been raised to worship blood spill. He is no different than the tributes from 1 and 2.

"Even though I hate you so much right now, I want you to know that I'm cheering you on...we're cheering you on." He gives me his final words of encouragement. By "we", I assumed he means District 4. Though we've never really liked each other, this last visit means a lot to me. A Peacekeeper walks in and Arcas calmly walks out. "Knock em' dead, Daniel." He tells me in an amused tone. Knock em' dead. Unfortunately it's something I'll have to do if I want to go home.

Within a few minutes I'm escorted out of the Justice Building and head to the train station.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! We are back with another chapter. I want to thank those who have reviewed so far. It means a lot. Enjoy! Oh! And I forgot to post the disclaimer earlier, so yeah...I don't own The Hunger Games. :D**

Peacekeepers take me out of the Justice Building where I meet up with Alice. They bring us to a fancy red car where our escort, Tatiana Holloway, is waiting. The ride to the train station is only a few minutes long. Immediately I have my winning smile back on. There are camera crews everywhere just waiting to catch a glimpse of Alice and me. When we reach the station, we're forced to wait at the doorway of the train for some quick interviews.

We are then allowed inside. The train begins to move as soon as the doors silently close behind us. It speeds through the wilderness at blinding speed, leaving only a blur to be seen out the window. I look at the clock and see that it's four thirty. We should be arriving at The Capitol by morning.

The tribute train is pretty impressive. There is food everywhere! Alice and I are each given our own chambers, each containing a bedroom, a dressing room, and private bathrooms. Tatiana shows me all the clothes available in the drawers. Apparently, they are all for my disposal. When she leaves, I decide to try out several of the clothes. I go through about five different outfits when I finally find one I'm comfortable in. I decide to lie on my bed and recap my day. I've only been awake for seven hours but it feels like a lifetime. It isn't until now that I realize Alice and I have not exchanged a single word yet.

Time flies and I'm not sure how much more hours pass, but I am brought back to reality when Tatiana knocks on my door. For a second I consider not opening the door and just quarantining myself for the day, but soon realize that I need to keep the charm going. I scramble to the door and let her in.

"Hello Daniel. I came to inform you that dinner will be served in a couple of minutes so you might want to head down already." says Tatiana in her captivated voice.

"What about Alice?" I ask.

"Oh, she's already in the dining room." she informs me.

I follow Tatiana into the dining room. It reminds me of an upscale version of the one back in my home in District 4. At the center of the room sits a table made of polished wood. Maple, I think. Not that it grows around District 4. But I've read about it before. Alice and Mags are already sitting down discussing several survival skills. When I walk in both their eyes shoot up at me.

"Well hey! There you are Daniel! Where have you been?" asks Alice brightly.

"Just getting ready. So what goes on in here?" I reply.

"Mags was just giving me some tips and advice. Finnick is hot and all but I kind of want _her_ as my mentor now so..." she stares at me with those dark blue eyes.

I laugh. "I get it. She's yours." I say.

"Sorry Daniel." Mags tells me, "But at least that leaves you Finnick."

Ah yes. The mighty Finnick Odair. He won his games seven years ago and ever since he's had lovers everywhere in The Capitol. I've seen his Games plenty of times and if I could chose someone to mentor me it'd probably be him.

"So where is Finnick?" I ask as my eyes look around for him.

"Here I am." a voice from behind me says.

I turn to see him walking in, barely beginning to button down his shirt to hide his skin. The sight is pretty hard to ignore. I wonder if this is how people look at me when I wear little clothes in the beach.

"Sit down Finnick. We're about to have dinner." announces Tatiana.

"Great! I'm starving!" says Finnick.

I take a seat next to Alice. The courses of food soon come rushing in. The air is filled with such a mouth-watering smell. I can hardly keep eating after the third round of food, but Tatiana keeps telling us there's more to come. When everyone is finally full we begin the conversation to break the silence of dinner.

"So are you two excited for the Games?" asks Tatiana innocently.

"Oh yeah! I can't wait to die for the entertainment of your people!" Alice answers sarcastically with a smile on her face. The air is suddenly tense. A look of shock crosses everyone's face, especially Tatiana. I am surprised that Alice and I are on the same page. An mutual hate for The Capitol. Tatiana seems to be highly offended by Alice's words and storms out.

"Alice! You can't say things like this around her! She's very sensitive and if your words ever get out, it could mean the end of you!" Mags yells at Alice. After a long scolding, Alice leaves the table to apologize to Tatiana. An empty apology is what I'm sure will be given. I stay behind and chat with Finnick and Mags.

"So Mags, you're already set to be Alice's mentor?" asks Finnick.

"Yes." answers Mags.

Finnick turns his attention to me. "Daniel, my friend, you are the lucky tribute that gets to have me as mentor!" he shouts enthusiastically.

"Good. I was going to pick you anyways. So when do we start?"

He smiles at me and says, "As soon as we get to the Capitol."

Alice and Tatiana soon return. Tatiana, as gleeful as ever, is jumping up and down in those heel-less high heels. She rushes everyone over to a different compartment of the train that houses a television as a wall to watch a recap of the Reaping in each district. I don't bother to remember any of the other tributes' names, but some of them do make an impression on me. The tributes from 1 and 2 seem pretty happy to have been chosen. I assume that if volunteering wasn't outlawed this year, they would have killed for a spot in the Games. There is a small twelve year old girl from 3. Our reaping goes by amazingly. The boy from 7 looks pretty strong and he completely ignores his district's escort when he climbs onstage. And both from 12 go up with attitudes. After the recap Tatiana looks at her wristwatch and we are hurried off to bed. I walk back with Alice and make idle chat. When I reach my room she wishes me good night and disappears to her room.

My sleep is haunted by nightmares. I dream of never seeing my family again, of being in the arena with Alice. I dream of both our deaths and how bloody they will be. I dream of a never ending fall. I guess I must have been screaming because I am awoken by Alice and Finnick. They seem pretty worried about me. I wonder what has escaped my mouth. I assure them I'm fine and that I'll be out in a bit. I strip naked and hop in the shower, feeling a slight paranoia that I might end up with a knife in my throat. _You have to quit worrying!_ I think to myself. _You're a Career!  
_  
The shower I'm in is far superior to the showers back home. In my house, the shower only had a switch for hot water and cold water. Here they have an endless row of buttons that spray anything from scented foam to gorgeous rose pedals. I bathe in luxury for the first time in my life. If I'm enjoying these showers this much, I can't imagine how the kids from 10, 11, or 12 feel. I'm about to drift off in the water when Tatiana bursts through the bathroom door. Don't these people have a sense of privacy!?

"Daniel hurry! We'll be arriving to The Capitol soon and you haven't eaten breakfast." yells Tatiana. I can see her eyes dart up and down my body. I quickly try to cover myself, but it's no use so I just let everything hang out.

"Okay. I'll be done soon." I claim.

Tatiana gives me a one last look and rushes out. I can't believe I just let this woman see me like this. Worried that I might have more interruptions soon, I rush out of the shower and pull on clothes. I decide to put on black pants and a light blue button-up shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone, exposing my broad, muscular chest. I walk into the dining room and everyone is already assembled.

"Good morning, Daniel!" screeches Tatiana.

"Good morning, Tatiana. Did you enjoy the show?" I can't help but to taunt her.

Tatiana blushes and giggles like an idiot. She has to excuse herself and runs out of the compartment. Everyone else seems so confused.

"What was that about, Daniel?" asks Mags.

"She walked in on me halfway through my shower. I tried covering myself but she just stood there so I let her see everything. And now I think I messed her brains up." I joke around.

Alice begins talking. "Well can you blame her? Back home, there's plenty people that talk about your 'perfect' butt."

My eyes instantly find the floor. I have never blushed before, but if I could, my cheeks would be bright red right now. I wonder if this is what Finnick goes through on a daily basis. Finnick can see that I'm embarrassed and takes it upon himself to further deepen it. He pulls out several good-natured jokes that I can't help but to laugh. Mags smiles but spends most of her time calling us "crazy kids".

About an hour later Tatiana returns. We spend some time talking about what to do when we reach The Capitol when the sun goes dark. I look around, searching for a source of light, and realize we are in a tunnel. We are here. Mags and Finnick begin speaking as fast as possible.

"When we pull up to the stations, you'll be taken to the Remake Center. There they will make you attractive for the cameras. Not that you two need any help with that." states Mags. "But they'll probably do things to you that you won't like."

Finnick then begins, "Don't resist. Just go with the flow. Afterwards you'll meet your stylists and be prepared for the chariot rides." The buildings come into view. Just as he's done talking, everything outside the window goes dark. After a few second, light finds us again and the cheering begins. Little by little it grows until it's right outside our window. Alice and I run to the glass and see the rainbow of freaks. Everyone celebrating the arrival of their entertainment. Finnick must see a look of disgust in our faces because he quickly adds, "Oh! And be likable!" I take this as a cue for me to smile, wave and blow kisses into the crowd. Alice does the same and I know, from their cheering, we are winning over this crowd.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Ahhh! We're finaly in the Capitol! The Games are about to get good! Feel free to review.**

I tighten my jaw as Augustus, a small but somewhat muscular man with dyed red hair that spikes at the front of his head and black tattoos everywhere in his body, rips of the last bits of my facial hair. Lysander, a tall, slim man that has more make-up on than Tatiana ever wears, works on my hands and feet. Calista, a short woman whose hair begins as blond at its roots but ends in pink at its tips and has a body covered in precious jewels, repairs my hair from damage brought on by years of swimming in salt water. Augustus, Calista, and Lysander. Together they are my prep team. They applaud me on letting them do their job without complaints.

"I always love working on the tributes from District 4. You guys are so willing to be fixed from you horrid state!" says Lysander in what I assume was meant as a compliment but ends up offending me.

I wonder how Alice is doing. At least I only need to get my eye brows and facial hair waxed. She might get her whole body done. The though of all that ripping and yanking makes me shudder. _Nice, Daniel. You shake at the thought of waxing. How the hell are you going to survive the arena?_ I think to myself.

After about two hours of countless baths, most of which I feel were excuses to touch my body, my prep team announces that my stylist might be ready for me. "Now you look gorgeous!" Calista yells out. I'd guess that she'd be in her early twenties but all that make up and jewels makes her look much older.

When my prep team exits the room, I quickly pull on my robe. Having all these people look at my naked body leaves me feeling extremely violated. Almost raped, in a way. I feel much better covered, though I'm pretty sure my stylist will make me undress as soon as they walks in.

A couple minutes pass by and I decide to sit up. Almost simultaneously the doors slide open, and in walks in my stylist. This woman, who must be in her early thirties, is tall and curved. Her hair is sea-green, to match my district, and slides down all the way to her waist in a straight pony-tail. She wears an extremely revealing dress that matches her hair. I would probably be aroused by her body, but I see that she has had work done on her. Her shoulders are like horns that point upwards and her face has a few of them sticking out. Her body covered in jewels and tattoos. Is this really what is considered beautiful here in The Capitol?

"Welcome, darling. Daphnee Laurel, your stylist." She sticks out her hand expecting me to greet her the way I did Tatiana. I take her hand and plant a soft smooch on it.

"Daniel Blackthorne, your tribute." I reply with a smirk.

She looks away for me, her hand still in mine. "Charmed I'm sure." she says. Wow. How conceited must this woman be. "Let me just say this, Daniel. It is going to be a pleasure working with you. You're extremely handsome." Okay, maybe she's not that bad.

"Thank you. You're not too bad yourself." I lie. So this is what Fennell and Jarrah must have been talking about. How my looks will get me what I want. I now feel like it will be fairly simple getting sponsors.

"Okay darling, let me look at you." Daphnee demands. I remove the robe and she begin walking around my body, searching for any flaw Augustus, Calista and Lysander might have left behind. WOW! I then feel a hand run down my back and grab my butt. Daphnee has no shame when it comes to inspecting for flaws. When she fails to locate one, she smiles and begins talking in that silly Capitol accent. "Everything is perfect! Why don't you come with me, Daniel?" It's not much of a question. More of an order. I hesitate but soon begin walking. I feel uncomfortable following her into a sitting room without any clothes on. Why didn't I pull the robe back on when I had the chance?

We walk into a large room that has a large window as one of the walls. I look at one of the many clocks in the room and see that the current time is four-fifteen. In the center of the room are two black couches that are so small they could only seat one person each. One is taken by Daphnee and the other she gestures me towards. When I sit, I put my arms between my legs, hoping to conceal myself.

"You hungry, darling?" asks Daphnee.

"Actually, now that you've mentioned it, yes!" I answer. I didn't notice how famished I've been until now. Daphnee presses a button on the side of her couch and the floor between us splits. A table full of steaming food springs up. We eat the fancy meal while chatting and making small talk. Though her eyes keep scrolling up and down my body, I'm beginning to get comfortable. When the food is gone, Daphnee's voice develops a serious tone.

"So, Daniel, as you know, tonight we have the opening ceremonies. The moment my partner, Maximus, and I saw the District 4 Reaping we knew the direction we wanted to take with your costumes."

I guess a puzzled look has crossed my face. Daphnee spots it right away and explains her ideas. "Daniel, you and Alice have sex appeal and we are going to use it to your advantage."

Anxiety shoots through me. I suddenly become self conscious about my nudity in front of her. "Wait...I'm not going out there naked, am I?" I mumble.

"No! Of course not!" Daphnee says. "At least...not entirely." She grins.

A few hours later I'm dressed in small, tight, blue shorts that are made to look as if they have scales. A small portion of my outer arms and back are covered in blue-green dust and stones that I suspect are sapphires and emeralds. My feet are in shoes that match the shorts. Augustus, Lysander, and Calista arrive to pat me down with something that feels like a cross between powder and oil. "Wow! Look at yourself, Daniel!" Augustus says in a pleased voice. I walk to the mirror and see that the material they rubbed on me makes my skin glisten in the light. And in this costume I look great! Completely sexy! I wonder how Alice will look. How the other tributes will look. The thought of other tributes knocks me back down to reality. I'm not here to model around. I'm here to fight to the death.

Alice soon arrives with her team. I see that we are semi-identical. Everything is the same except that her shorts are much smaller than mine and she's wearing a bra made of clams. Her hair is as wavy as the sea. Her face sprinkled with the blue-green dust.

"Well, you look great." I compliment Alice. In her costume, she really does look sexy. And so do I.

"Thanks. You too. So how was your day?" she asks.

"Horrible! My face got the hair yanked from it and I was forced to walk around naked most of the day." I say in a joking manner.

Daphnee, Lysander, Calista, and Augustus soon come to meet Alice. Alice introduces me to her prep team. It is made up of a crew no stranger than mine. A man named Ulysses and two women named Demitria and Modesta. Her stylist looks like the male counterpart of Daphnee. His name is Maximus and the only difference between him and her is that his outfit and hair is blue.

After the meet-and-greet, we are all forced into a big elevator that's not big enough for all ten of us. Several elbows jab at my ribs and someone's hand finds my thigh. We drop down to the bottom level of the Remake Center, which is basically just a giant stable. When we step out of the elevator I notice several people's eyes dart our way, including the tributes from 1 and 2. The Tribute Parade is about to start. Everyone is being loaded onto their own chariot that will be driven by very well trained horses. I've never seen a horse in real life so I assume they're well trained since they haven't kicked anyone.

The feeling of people's eyes on my back is strong as I make my way to my chariot. Alice is getting some last minute touches by Maximus and Daphnee comes to stand by my side when the mentors walk in. Mags heads towards Alice and Finnick makes his way to me. I can see the fury and confusion in his eye. Daphnee is talking to me when Finnick cuts her mid-sentence.

"What the hell are you thinking sending him out like this?!" He tries to keep his voice down but the rage is winning out.

Daphnee immediately gets defensive. "What's your problem. He's my tribute and he will be dressed however I want! And besides his ass looks great. Just look at those back-dimples!" Back home, I always got compliments on my butt but I had no idea I had back-dimples. I touch my lower back just to confirm they're there.

Finnick and Daphnee get into a huge argument but luckily no one else seems to notice them, and the people that do just ignore them. Their battle ends when Alice climbs the chariot and they are forced away. I am so confused why Finnick freaked out but I have no time to worry about that now. Panem's anthem has begun playing and the chariots are being positioned into place.

I catch a glimpse of the tributes' outfits ahead of us. This year, District 1 is spray painted gold and wears white togas covered in gems and small golden crowns. District 2 wears what appears to be the Capitol version of a Peacekeeper uniform. Fabulous and over exaggerated. District 3's costumes make me laugh. They seem to wrapped in green, red, and blue wires.

The chariots begin to move out and I take a deep breath. I turn to look at Alice and she gives me a half smile. "Just wave and pretend you like them!" she yells over the music.

As we enter the city, my ears drown in the anthem. I initially think I have gone death but then the cheers emerge, matching the sight of the audience. Thousands of people line the streets to catch a glimpse of this year's tributes.

District 4 must be eye-catching. When we pass by, many people point their fingers and scream things like, "There they are!" or "Look at them!" and continue to do so even after we're long gone. I turn to Alice again and see she's waving and blowing kisses to the freakish audience. I realize I have done nothing but stare down the crowd so I mimic her movements. It's not until this moment that I feel like I'm on top of the world. Though I'm being sentenced to fight to the death, this moment makes me feel amazing. I feel like a celebrity. If there are two things I can felicitate the Capitol on, it would be that they have amazing food and that they sure know how to treat a tribute...at least, up until the bloodshed begins.

I blow kisses into the audience and several people faint. I can't help but to enjoy the moment. I've never been the kind of guy to covet the spotlight, but right now it's all I do. I ignore the giant screens so I don't lay eyes on another tribute.

After about twenty minutes we reach the city circle. By now, the sunlight has completely disappeared but the city lights keep everything fully illuminated. I wake up from my hypnotic state when the horses stop. I now see some of the others' costumes. District 5 wears a metallic suit that has a bright blue light at its chest. The kids from District 7 are dressed as trees, as always. And the ones from 12 are in their typical coat miner attire. How pathetic. I take in the crowd and music for a few more moments until I hear his voice. My eyes immediately chase the sound and meet President Coriolanus Snow.


	5. Chapter 5

The people of the Capitol see President Snow as a beloved hero. Back in District 4 people see him an evil tyrant. In The Academy, even the Careers that loved the idea of joining the Hunger Games curse his name.

President Snow greets us delightfully from a balcony in his mansion. He waves to the crowd in an attempt to silence them but the audience only cheers more intensely. When the noise dies down, President Snow begins. "Welcome! Welcome tributes!" his voice roars through the streets. He gives a long speech about the Dark Days and how The Hunger Games came to be.

During the speech I see myself on one of the large screens that decorate the streets. I'm not narcissistic, but the way I'm dressed now, I'd probably fall in love with myself too. The screen shows Capitol citizens eyeing me down and again I am reminded that I am wearing nothing but small, skin-tight shorts. I look at the other tributes once again and confirm my suspicion. Alice and I are the most exposed tributes!

"Happy Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor!" finishes Snow. The anthem resumes and the horses whisk us around the city circle one last time. What must the people back home think of me. Is my family watching? Are Jarrah, Fennell and Arcas cheering me on?

All twenty four of us tributes are then taken to the Training Center. As soon as the doors close and the audience is left behind, stylists rush to their tributes. Daphnee and Maximus appear and help us dismount the chariot. They babble on and on about how they are geniuses for the costumes they have made for us.

"Well, that was nice." I say in a satisfied voice. And I mean it genuinely. This has been one of the most amazing moments of my life. Quite ironic considering that this happened because I might die.

"You two did great! I wouldn't be surprised if people started lining up to sponsor you right now!" says Maximus.

"We did look great, didn't we?" Alice asks.

"Gorgeous _and_ sexy!" confirms Daphnee. She then walks us to a large couch where we are to lie in wait while she and Maximus brag and gloat about their almost invisible designs to the other stylists. Once again, I try to cover my body with my hands. Alice seems to have no problem with most of her skin exposed.

"Why do you cover yourself?" she asks.

"I'm kind of shy when it comes to my body. I don't like people seeing it." I whisper out.

"Why? Weren't you naked around Daphnee most of the day? And besides, you have a nice body. If anything, you should be showing it off. It'll get you sponsors for sure." Alice says. Why is she telling me this? She acts as if we aren't going to kill each other in a matter of days.

So I finally ask, "Why are you helping me?"

"What do you mean?" Alice asks, completely puzzled.

"I mean, why are you building me up instead of breaking me down. It would sure make me an easier target in the arena." I state. It's true though. Shouldn't we hate each other?

"There's no reason to hate each other! We come from the same district! We shouldn't be enemies! We need to stick together!" she quietly yells at me. But it's loud enough to cause a scene. The majority of the tributes have taken the elevator and shot up to their rooms. The ones that remain in the lobby with their stylists turn to see the commotion. I grab Alice's arm in an attempt to calm her down.

"But why stick together when all you want to do is kill?" I loudly whisper at her. I'm sure most people can't hear me.

"What are you talking about?" she lets out. I can tell by the shocked look in Alice's dark blue eyes that I have offended her. "I know how to kill. But never, in my wildest dream, would wish to kill anyone! I'm not like Arcas and Rosalie! I hate all of this!"

My mind goes back to night on the train. Alice had offended Tatiana Holloway with her comments. That's when I realize Alice and I are on the same page. Both of us have amazing weaponry and combat skill but never intended to use them. Not the way Arcas and his sister, Rosalie, did. Neither of us ever planned to volunteer. Our conversation falls silent. Tatiana shows up, accompanied by Mags and Finnick.

"Where did Daphnee and Maximus go?" asks Alice, her voice back to normal.

"Who knows where they went. It's probably for the best they're gone anyways." Finnick shoots back. I can tell Finnick doesn't like Daphnee. At least, not after tonight.

"Why don't we head up to your rooms?" Tatiana gleefully says.

We get in the elevator made of crystals. I can see the tributes, stylists, and mentors on the ground shrink as we go up. We stop on the fourth floor. We have the entire perimeter to ourselves. When the elevator opens, Alice, Finnick, Mags, Tatiana and I step into a gorgeous living room. To the side there's a dining room and an area with a large couch and television that covers most of the wall. Tatiana talks about the different parts of the giant room but I am too mesmerized by the luxury of it all.

Alice and I are escorted by Tatiana to the rooms where we will, most likely, be living in for the rest of our short lives. She shows me my room first. Quite luxurious, the room has a bright-red, king-sized bed, drawers filled with clothes, and a huge shower filled with thousands of buttons that activate different pleasures. It's like an upscale version of the train. One of the walls in my room is a window that zooms in and out on different parts of the city.

Tatiana leaves me and says she'll come by in a few minutes to call us to dinner. She then takes Alice down the hall. Finnick tells me to change quickly and shuts the door behind him. I quickly remove all my clothes, not that I was wearing much, and head to the bathroom. I wash away all the traces of the blue-green dust and gems. When I head back to the room, I put on what seems to be a pair of pajamas. A white shirt and soft, red sweatpants. The costume from the Tribute Parade that I left on the floor is gone.

I look out the window and into the city not too far below. I wonder how the view must be from the top of the Training Center. Soon, there's a knock on the door. Tatiana just barges in. She looks somewhat disappointed and I think she expected to see me the way she did on the train. "Dinner is ready, Daniel. Start heading to the dining room." And she's gone. I hear a knock on a distant door which I assume belongs to Alice's room.

Finnick and Mags are already sitting at the table when I get there. Soon we are joined by Tatiana and Alice. I wonder if Daphnee and Maximus are coming, but it's probably for the best they don't after Finnick's angry fit.

Dinner starts off quietly. Finnick is still pretty mad, which I'm still confused what about, but has winded down. Silent waiters begin serving us food. Tatiana then breaks the silence. "So guys, let's turn on the television. The replay of the opening ceremonies should start any second." There's no need for anyone to get up. The television automatically turns itself on and begins the show. I see myself on screen and see just how revealing District 4's costumes were.

Over the course of the next half hour, people watch and let out comments such as, "What a nice outfit." or "We're they really wearing that?" Though no district completely conquered the show, our costumes were some of the better looking ones.

When the replay is over, Caesar Flickerman appears onscreen. His entertaining voice captures me. "Don't go anywhere folks," as if we could, "Next up we have an interview with the one and only, Seneca Crane! That's right ladies and gentlemen! Get to know the new Head Gamemaker in charge of the 72nd Annual Hunger Games." And the screen goes to commercials about surgery and wigs.

I wonder what happened to the old head Gamemaker. My first thought is that he outlived his purpose and the Capitol simply got rid of him. But then, I think I remember hearing that he retired but still makes appearances here and there.

"Ooh! New Head Gamemaker! How exciting!" Tatiana says, as if she wasn't aware. They made the announcement months ago about Seneca Crane becoming Head Gamemaker and everyone in Panem knew. Soon enough Caesar is back and everyone pays complete attention.

"Welcome. Welcome ladies and gentlemen! How's everybody doing on this lovely night?!" The crowd goes hysterical. "We just had the Tribute Parade, and now we have none other than Seneca Crane!" The Gamemaker makes his way across the stage, greets Caesar, and takes a seat. The interview begins. I glimpse over at Alice. Her eyes are glued on Caesar, but I find my gaze going to Seneca and, dare I say it, that amazing beard of his. Tatiana jabbers on and on about how excited she is. Her words block out most of what Seneca and Caesar are saying. The conversation between Caesar and Seneca goes on for about an hour when Caesar has one question left. "So Seneca. What can you tell us about the arena this year?"

"Well Caesar, I can't say much, but I promise it'll be amazing and unforgettable!" Seneca says. The crowd, along with Tatiana, shrieks out ooh's and ahh's.

"Alright, ladies and gentleman. Let's hear it for the new Head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane!" Caesar takes Seneca by the hand, raises it in the air, and both take a bow. The screen goes black.

The last question leaves me concerned. A new head Gamemaker is bound to make a deadly arena. In past Hunger Games there have been arenas that kill off the majority of the tributes before anyone else does. There was once a year that the arena was a prehistoric jungle filled with dinosaurs. Of course, those animals have been extinct for millions of years so all the ones in the arena were mutts. Who knows what the arena will be this year. One can only hope it's a place with plenty to eat. I'm a pretty good hunter and gatherer anyways.

A silent waiter comes by to pick up the dirty fishes. Alice simply thanks him and Tatiana becomes a raging mutt. "Alice! You don't need to thank them! That's their job!" she screams. The sudden outburst startles the silent man and he drops the dishes, shattering into hundreds of shards as they hit the floor. What happens next leaves me livid.

As he gets down on his knees to pick up the shards that were once glass plates, Tatiana stands up and kicks him straight in the face. Blood flies from his nose and left eye. The man falls into the pile of glass, releasing even more blood from his arms and chest, and I can see a second kick coming his way. I immediately plant myself between Tatiana and the man, receiving the kick in my shins. I have no idea what words come out of my mouth but they must be pretty strong because it leaves everyone with a gaping mouth. Tatiana furiously launches towards the man but I catch her by the waist. Finnick takes her from my arms and hauls her way. When Tatiana is out of sight, Alice, Mags and I help the man up. I ask if he's alright but he just shakes his head up and down and leaves. Alice turns to me, confusion in her face. "What just happened?" she asks.

"I'm not too sure myself." I say, trying to compose myself.

"What the hell is she thinking treating that man like that? She has no right to do so!" I scream, hoping it's loud enough for Tatiana to hear, where ever she may be.

"Actually, she does." Mags adds with a frown on her face. "That man is an Avox." An Avox. I've heard this word before but I'm not sure where.

"What's an Avox?" Alice asks.

Mags then proceeds to inform us about Avoxes. "They are people that have, in one way or another, rebelled against the Capitol. Their tongues are cut out so they can't speak and they are forced to become slaves." I don't say anything. The Capitol is more backwards than I initially thought. Not only do they force children to kill each other for their entertainment, but they also keep slaves?! I can't imagine how many people have had their tongues removed. Maybe President Snow is deranged enough to keep them as part of a collection.

I head to my room after helping Alice and Mags clean the small pool of blood left by the Avox man. I strip off the pajamas stained with the Avox's blood and hop in the shower. I need something to calm my nerves so I activate several of the scents and the massaging floors underneath my feet. The bathroom is filled with the smell of honey and cinnamon. After the long shower I dry myself by stepping on a mat that causes heaters to blow-dry my body. I decide not to put on the same blood-stained pajamas again and I see no sense in putting on a new pair just to sleep, so I hop into bed naked without the sheets. Slowly, I drift into unconsciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: So what has everyone thought of the story so far? What did everyone think of Tatiana and the Avox? Well here is an update! The tributes are finally heading into training! The Careers are starting to come together! Enjoy and dont forget to review!**

My dreams are filled with the Avox man. The incident with Tatiana kicking him replays over and over again. It's a nightmare, but instead of fear, anger is injected into me.

I wake up to dim light entering the room and the sheets pulled over me. Did I wake up in the middle of the night and cover myself? Or did someone come in and do it for me? I'm starting to think there's no point in hiding my body anymore. It's clear there's no such thing as privacy here. I jump off the bed and into the shower. I decide to do it exactly as I did it last night. Massaging floors and scents of honey and cinnamon. I need the relaxation. I'm not sure I can go out and face Tatiana after what happened last night. Does every Avox get treated like the man was? What could they have done to receive such punishment?

After an hour in the bathroom, I dry myself and walk into my room to find what is my training uniform. It's mostly gray in color and has the number 4 on the back and sleeves of the shirt in red. I'm actually pretty nervous about meeting the other tributes. What if everyone is stronger than I am? Impossible! I a mighty Career! But I'll keep watch of the others just in case. What if everyone is really nice? How will I kill them then? I'll try my best not to make any friends, which won't be too hard since I hear most districts don't like us Careers.

I throw the training clothes on and walk into the dining room. I find no one but Finnick there. He has already begun stuffing his face. Well he's in a good mood. "Morning, Finnick!" I cheer.

"Good Morning, Daniel!" He cheers back in a mocking way.

"So where's everyone? And what time am I supposed to head down to training?" I ask.

"Mentoring has officially started so Mags is with Alice in her room and we get the dining room today! Are you ready to get started?!" Finnick screams in enthusiasm. Is he just as excited as Tatiana to watch me die or is this just part of his personality to be this happy?

"I'm ready to get started!" I yell back even louder. I take a seat across the table from Finnick and he slides me over a plate of ham and eggs with a few rolls on the side and a glass of orange juice. "So what are you mentoring me on?"

"For starters, always sleep with the covers on." he says. I instantly freeze. So it was Finnick that came in and covered me. At this point, I am seriously considering going nude all the time. Tatiana, Daphnee, and now Finnick?! I try to just laugh it off but Finnick's smile just makes me sound like a babbling idiot.

"I am so sorry Fin. I didn't think anyone would come in." I finally say.

He laughs uncontrollably. "It's okay. Maybe I'll return the favor one day. But hey, at least now we know that Daphnee was right about your rear." I fall deeper into embarrassment. After what seems like an eternity of endless laughter, Finnick finally manages to calm down.

"Hey Fin, can I ask you something?" I ask.

"Sure. What?" He responds.

"Why did you get so upset when you saw Alice and I's costumes last night?"

The air suddenly becomes heavier. All signs of laughter and jokes leave Finnick's face. As soon as he sees that I've registered the change, the spark in his sea-green eyes returns. "Tell you what. If you do everything I say for the next couple of days, I'll consider telling you. Deal?" He extends out his hand. I meet him halfway.

"Deal." I say. And just like that we're back on track. "So what's the plan for training?"

"When you get down there try to talk to some of the other tributes. You could possibly work out an alliance, which helps you survive longer. You and Alice, being from District 4, are most likely to be approached by 1 and 2 to form the Career pack." Finnick goes over the importance of alliances. But he also warns me never to trust anyone and to always watch my back. Sometimes it is better to be alone. "Okay. Now that we got that out of the way, tell me, have you been trained?" He asks.

"Of course. Not only did I train in The Academy, but also with my dad. He's a trainer there but he has taught me many things that The Academy didn't." I say.

"So what can you do? What weapons can you use?" Finnick asks.

"I can use almost any weapon I can get my hands on...except maybe the bow and arrows. But I also know many survival skills that the rest of the kids didn't know back home. I know how to hunt and gather." I stop right there. If I keep going I might sound extremely self-absorbed.

"That's good. That's good." Finnick says while going over ideas in his head. "Okay, here's the plan. When you get down to training, don't show off any of your weaponry skills. Save that for the arena. Try to form alliances with 1 and 2. Together you all will get far and then you can go off on your own. While you're down there, try improving some of your weaker skills, like using a bow for instance. And last of all, if you do team up with the other Careers, don't get a big head. Stay level-headed and you will come out on top. That sound good?" Finnick finally finishes.

I wait a second so my brain has time to process all the information. "Yes!" I confirm. "So what time does training start?"

"It doesn't start until ten so you have an hour and a half left." He informs me.

The rest of my free time is spent switching from conversation to conversation. What starts off as going over strategies for the arena and ends as a game of truth or dare. I eat as much as I can. There is no such thing as too much when it comes to food from The Capitol. When ten rolls around, Finnick goes to get Mags and Alice out of the room. Our mentors guide us to the elevator. They put us in and click the basement button. "Remember what I told you!" is the last thing I hear Finnick says before the doors shut close.

The ride down is silent. I'm super nervous about seeing the other tributes that I feel my breakfast crawling back up. I hold it down and when the elevator doors begin to open I take a deep breath. I'm relieved to see that we are the first tributes to arrive. Even the Gamemakers who watch the training sessions are barely assembling. Alice steps out of the elevator and walks exactly to the center of the giant gymnasium. She looks around and asks where to go first. "Do you mind if we split up a bit during training once in a while?" asks Alice. I don't necessarily want her to leave my side but I don't want her knowing what I can do either, so I say yes. She goes off in the direction of the knives. I decide to head to the knot tying station. A delightful trainer welcomes me and shows me a few knots, most of which I'm already good at, and some that I've never tried before but are fairly simple for me to master.

A few minutes into training the tributes from 3,7, and 8 walk in. A few decide to come to the knot tying station so I leave. For a few moments I stand at the center of the gymnasium, staring at the few Gamemakers that are here. I then turn my attention to the spear throwing station. There's only seven other people in training, and it doesn't seem as if anyone is paying attention to me, so I decide to go ahead and launch a few spears. Back home, I was quite handy with spears. Whenever I went to work with Dad and the nets weren't working, I'd dive into the water and spear the fish. I'd also do the same with tridents.

I get lost while throwing spears. I completely forget I'm even in The Capitol. I throw spears from five yards away, then from ten, and then, with enough effort, from twenty yards away and always hit the dummy in the kill zone. I am completely unaware of my surroundings until an unfamiliar voice brings me back.

"So I guess we're allies, huh?" I turn and see the boy from District 1. He has blond hair, pale skin and light green eyes. He's attractive and about the same size I am. Must be my age as well.

"I guess we are." I say, making sure to have my winning smile on. "I'm Daniel by the way."

"Jasper." He states. He picks up a spear and begins training with me. "So are spears your thing?" he asks. I say yes and have him under the impression that it's one of the few things I can wield. "Have you met any of the other tributes?" Jasper asks.

"Not yet. So I guess you have the pleasure of being the first." I say. Jasper chugs the spear at a closer distance than I did but manages to hit the target.

"Well you should come with me and I'll introduce you to my district partner. And later you can meet District 2. They're pretty good." Jasper has me follow him across to the other side of the gym where Alice has already met the girl from District 1.

"Hey Topaz," Jasper calls to the beautiful girl from 1. "This is Daniel." He switches over to look at me. "Daniel, this is Topaz." Topaz has the same light-green eyes and pale skin Jasper does but her hair is more of a bronze color. I know from her reaping that she is my age, sixteen-years-old.

"Hi, Daniel! I've been wanting to meet you since I saw you at the parade last night." Topaz says. I know she's trying to flirt with me but, even though she is beautiful, I can't let her distract me. But I can try to distract her.

"Hello Topaz." I say in the same sexy voice I've heard Finnick use when talking to certain people. "I see you've met Alice."

"Alice is awesome. She sure knows her way around a knife." Topaz remarks.

"Thanks Topaz. You're not bad yourself. In fact, I can teach some of the things I know." Alice talks to Topaz as if she were her younger sister. For some reason this rubs me the wrong way. Aren't we supposed to kill each other soon? Why the hell are we acting like friends?

Jasper then introduces himself to Alice. We spend a couple of minutes talking when the rest of the tributes arrive. Topaz goes over to 2 and brings them back to where Jasper, Alice and I are. I guess that 1 and 2 already met and Alice and I are the last ones being added to their group. The girl immediately approaches Alice and I with a hug. She appears to be at least fifteen and has long black hair, dark eyes, tan skin, and piercings on her cheeks. I suppose she's a big fan of The Capitol's fashions. "Hi guys. I'm Britannia!" She says. Alice is about to introduce herself when Britannia stops her to say she already knows our names.

The seventeen-year-old boy introduces himself as Atticus. He is tall, muscular and pretty attractive. He has dark blond hair and dark blue eyes. Atticus greets us with a tight hand shake.

"So we're all together?" I ask.

"Yes! Together we can get pretty far." says Atticus. He speaks as if we can all win. We all know this alliance is only temporary but nobody says a thing. And I don't plan on letting any of them win.

Just as we finish conversing, the head trainer, a tall, athletic, dark-skinned woman named Atala walks in. She blows her whistle and summons us to gather around her. She begins explaining the training schedule and each of the training stations. As Atala talks, I look around at the other tributes. I see the same ones I noticed during the recap of the reapings. Some of the other tributes stare at us too, but their gaze is with fear while mine is with curiosity.

When Atala releases us, I follow the rest of the Careers to the weapons. I'm tempted to show off but I remember Finnick's words and head to the bow and arrows. I spend the rest of my time not paying attention at the others around me and focus on the bow. I look back at the Gamemakers and see that some are unimpressed with my poor handling of this weapon. I must be doing pretty bad. They take down notes. I want to show them everything I have, but I can't risk the others knowing my advantage. I feel incredibly relieved when lunch is finally called.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! Before we get started, I'd like to thank those who have reviewed, followed, and favorited my story! I really appreciate it! Anyways, I think I'm going to start an uploading schedule. I'll try to post every Wednesday and Saturday. There might be days when I break the pattern but for the most part, it'll be Wednesday and Saturday. And also, today is August 13. One week before the Catching Fire trailer! Who else is excited! I know I am. Enjoy.**

The lunch room is beside the gymnasium. Because I miss several of the arrows I shot, I take my time collecting them. By the time I head to the lunch room, I'm the last one in. The food is arranged on carts around the room and you serve yourself. I see it as an all-you-can-eat buffet. Atticus, Topaz, Jasper, Alice and Britannia have all gathered around one table. The rest of the tributes sit mostly alone but there are a few that sit with their district partner.

I gather a plate and collect a huge amount of food. Before I can even consider sitting, Jasper calls me over to the Career table. When I sit down, I immediately devour what's on my plate. Topaz tries to keep up her flirtatious ways and I return the flirting, but with no meaning behind it.

Lunch lasts about an hour and during this time, we all spend the time talking over strategies for when the games begin. I try my best not say anything about myself. Alice, however, is an open book. Actually, they all are, tossing back and forth their knowledge over weapons.

When lunch ends, several Peacekeepers come into the lunch room to get us back to training. As we're getting up, the girl from District 12 accidentally bumps into Britannia, causing her to drop her plates. Britannia turns to look at the girl from 12 and yells, "Watch where you're going, bitch!" and simply pushes her to the ground. Jasper, Topaz, Atticus and Britannia laugh at the girl and walk out.

My first instinct is to help the poor girl. Alice stays behind to pick up the plates while I pick 12 up. Immediately, whatever good impressions I had of 1 and 2 vanish. "I'm so sorry about that. I apologize for..._her_." I say nodding toward the gymnasium.

"It's okay." She takes the plates from Alice's hands and walks out. I watch her walk away. Her long brown hair almost reaches her waist. She turns to look at us with her hazel eyes.

The rest of my day is spent learning how to build a fire, a skill I've always had trouble with. The trainer here seems to be surprised I joined him. Apparently, most Careers feel above learning simple skills like this. They figured they can get fire starters from sponsors.

When the first day of training is over, all the Careers get in the elevator together. They continue laughing at the District 12 girl. By the time Alice and I reach our floor, Jasper, Topaz, Britannia and Atticus are long gone, Finnick gleefully greets us when the elevator doors open. "Hey guys! How was training?" he asks.

"It was...alright." Alice answers. "It was different from what I thought it would be. But we now have allies!"

"Really? Who?" Mags walks in.

"1 and 2. But they seem so full of themselves." I say. I quickly change the subject. "So what's for dinner?"

"Whatever your little heart desires!" The voice comes from the dining room. I walk in and find Tatiana, as upbeat as ever. A million thoughts go through my mind. The sight of her makes me shudder. She acts as if nothing has happened. But I wait for that demon to burst from her at any given moment.

The Avoxes come out with hundreds of different trays of food. I eat part of the turkey that decorates the center of the table. I soon fill up with rice, bean, peas and bread tinted green from District 4 that Mags has requested.

I look around for the silent man from yesterday. He is nowhere to be found.

After dinner, Tatiana turns her attention to me. "Daniel, I'd like to formally apologize for yesterday's incident. I realize that I may have hurt you and, as your escort, that is the last thing I would ever want to do." Tatiana says. I look at Alice and see she seems completely uninterested in the apology. Why is Tatiana apologizing to me? It's good that she's expressing remorse for her actions but I wasn't the one that was bleeding from kicks to the face. In order to avoid further tension, I accept her apology and head to bed.

I skip the shower tonight. I'm too tired, both physically and emotionally. I'm now beginning to feel the first symptoms of homesickness. I remove the training outfit but put on pajamas. I don't want to risk another nude incident. As soon as I hop into bed my vision blurs and I am knocked out.

Hours later, I'm woken up by Finnick. I don't know why but he can't help but to keep giggling. "Why are you laughing? We're you peeping again?" I joke. He doesn't say anything but when I walk into the bathroom my question is answered. I see he has doodled on my face. I'm sporting a wide pair of glasses, a heavy mustache and, funniest of all, a penis on my cheek. I guess my shock is noticeable because Finnick starts laughing like never before. I know I should hate him for this, but I can't help but to laugh along. It's nice to know that I can count on Finnick for a good laugh at a time like this. I make a quick mental note to get him back before I head into the arena.

After showering and changing into today's training outfit, which appeared on my bed after I got out of the shower, I head out to the dining room. Mags, Alice, and Finnick are there. Finnick grabs several plates and leads me back down to my room. "Okay so day two. You remember what I told you yesterday right?" He asks.

"Yes. Of course. Is there anything else I should know?" I say.

Finnick's mind seems to wander. "No. Not at least for a few more days."

We spend our morning getting to know each other a little better. He asks about my skills and I ask about his victory, which he doesn't seem to have too much trouble talking about. When the clock strikes ten, Alice and I are taken to the elevator. The doors open and we enter. The elevator is filled with the tributes from 12 and 9. The ride down is silent again. I turn to look at the girl from 12 and see she has a large bruise on her left arm. I want to apologize again but it's not worth my breath, considering we'll be in the arena soon.

The day of training goes better than yesterday. I finally begin to get the hang of the bow and by the time the day is over, I'm pretty good at starting a fire. I guess I'm a quick learner. This night, my sleep is dreamless.

I wake up and shower. The training outfit appears in my bed, as it has for the last two days. Today will be the last time it does so. I put it on and head out to the dining room. Finnick is already waiting for me. "Morning Fin!" I say.

"Morning Dan!" he replies. "So today, I have some new tips for you!"

We begin eating and Finnick continues, "Today, after lunch, each tribute will have their own private session with the Gamemakers. You all will go in order according to your district. This is the time show them everything you can do. Everything! They will then give you a score of one through twelve. Twelve being the best and one being the worst. Higher scores attract sponsors but people always target you too. Since you'll be with the other careers, you'll probably be safe for most of the game. Just watch your back."

I take everything in and begin eating. After an hour of breakfast, Alice and I head down to the gymnasium. Even though we are exactly on time, we're the last ones here.

Training starts like any other. Atticus, Jasper and I hop from station to station. I make sure to not to show much of what I can really do. I even try the camouflage station, mainly for the opportunity to show off my body while painting it in hopes to mesmerize some of my opponents. Seems to work, as several tributes can't seem to focus on their activities and stare at me. After a few hours of training, lunch comes. Once again I'm the last one in the lunch room. When I get up to load my plate, Alice joins me at the stew cart. "So what are we going to do about our new friends?" she asks.

At once, I know she talks of their soon to come deaths. The question takes me by surprise. I was beginning to think that she was really bonding with the rest of the Careers. In the past 3 days, Alice has spent all her time in the Training Center with them. But I guess that, just like me, the fact that there's only one survivor, has lingered in the back of her mind. And then it hits me. In order for me to win, Alice must die. I hold back a lump on my throat that begins to form. Over the course of these last few days I've really have come to like Alice. Not in a romantic sense but more as a big sister. Alice has looked after me quite a few times. Yesterday, during training, the boy from District 11 and I almost got into a fight over a knife I threw that almost hit him. I wasn't aiming at him though. He just happened to walk in between me and the target and made himself the victim. Alice was the first one there to defend me after his constant death threats and promises to kill me in the arena. I didn't need help but it was nice to know that someone had my back.

I turn to look back at Alice. Her dark blue eyes fix on mine forming an imaginary bridge for my thoughts to cross over. She soon sees the same thing I do. That one of us has to die. I don't say anything else. I break the bridge and head to the table.

At the table we all discuss what we want to do for the Gamemakers in a couple of minutes. "I think I'm going to demonstrate how I use an axe." says Britannia. I've seen her train with axes a couple of times. She is really good and it's probably her favorite weapon.

Soon enough, Jasper's name is called. About fifteen minutes pass and Topaz is called. Little by little, the lunch room empties. Alice and I are the only ones left at our table when my name is called. I walk back into the gymnasium and find several weapons lying around. The Gamemakers seem pretty excited when I come in. The people before me must have given them quite a show, but I expect to blow them away. I take to the center and greet the Gamemakers. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, Seneca Crane. I'm Daniel Blackthorne and I'm here to amaze you!" I say.

Seneca Crane stares right into my eyes. "Hello, Daniel. So what can you do?" he asks.

"More like, what _can't_ I do?!" I say as I rush to the different weapons stations. I get a small cart and pile several knives, axes, spears and much more and head back to the center. I then collect several dummies and place them about ten yards from where I'll be positioned. Over the next couple minutes I display the throwing skill I have. I try to shot from afar will much success. I then display several hand-to-hand combat skills I learned from my father. The Gamemakers seem truly amazed. I have them on the age of their seats. At one point, I begin getting sweaty so I remove my shirt. If I didn't have their attention before, I do now. For the last part of my demonstration, I go to the edible plants station. I complete the simulator with ease and head back to the Gamemakers. They seem amazed at my many skills.

"Wow. That was...pretty amazing." Seneca says. "I think that's all we need to see." He dismisses me, even though I still had more to show.

"Thank you for your time." I say and wink in the Gamemakers' direction, making a few of them faint. I head back to the elevator, and when I turn back to see them, they huddle and begin to discuss. The doors close and I dart up. I think I did a pretty good job. There was plenty more I could have shown them, but I suppose I should save some for when the Games begin. I keep congratulating myself over and over in my mind. I'm sure I stand a great chance of survival. When the doors open, I find Finnick, Mags, Tatiana, Daphnee and Maximus sitting together I'm the living room. This is the first time I see the stylists since the chariot rides.

"There's our man!" yells Finnick. "So how did everything go? Were you amazing?"

"I showed them most of what I can do. They seemed pretty impressed." I say.

"Well, I'm sure you did great, darling!" says Daphnee as she gets up to hug me. She smells like the syrup I've put on my Capitol breakfast. Her long, green hair gets in my mouth.

I sit down with them and discuss my private session with the Gamemakers. Twenty minutes pass when Alice finally steps into the room. She tells us how her session went. Apparently, they had a hard time focusing on her because I left a lasting effect on them.

I spend the time leading up to dinner hanging out with Finnick. We decide to be disgusting and have a spitting contest on the small balcony I didn't even know we had, hoping the spit might hit a Capitol citizen below. Tatiana comes out and scolds us, but when she leaves, Finnick and I just laugh. After the incident with the silent man, I've been ignoring her and even now that doesn't stop. For someone who is supposed to be teaching us manners, she's a giant walking contradiction. Some escort she turned out to be.

The smell of food carries me back inside. I find the table filled with luxurious meals. Finnick and I race to the table. Alice slowly walks into the dining room, laughing on about how silly we are. Mags and Tatiana appear behind her and take their seats. For the first time, Daphnee and Maximus join us for dinner. We sit and talk about the day. When Tatiana brings up the upcoming Games, I change the topic and ask the stylists about their past work. Apparently, they have been working with the District 4 tributes for the past six years. When dinner's done, we head into the room with the giant television. The training scores will be revealed soon. I'm about to begin talking when Caesar Flickerman's voice comes on.


	8. Chapter 8

Caesar tells the audience about our recent training and begins revealing the scores. Each tribute's name and district is read out. On screen, a picture and number emerge. First the boy's score is revealed, followed by the girl's, in district order. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen. Let's get this started." Caesar says. "From District 1, Jasper. The score of ten." That's pretty good. I give the screen my complete attention. Caesar continues. "From District 1, Topaz. The score of nine. From District 2, Atticus. The score of eleven. From District 2, Britannia. The score of ten." Wow so the other Careers managed to get really high scores.

"From District 3, Ostro. A score of seven. From District 3, Pastel. The score of three." The thirteen-year-old girl from 3 must have done a real bad job. No wonder the Gamemakers were excited to see me.

"From District 4, Daniel. The score of twelve!" Cesar says surprisingly. Wow! A perfect score! They must have really liked me! And the fact that I took my shirt off and wink at several of them might have helped. Alice gives me a high five. Then we get back to paying attention. "From District 4, Alice. The score of eleven." I guess the Gamemakers had paid attention to her after all. We all have congratulatory hugs and almost miss the District 5 scores.

"From District 5, Fidel. The score of four. From District 5, Teena. A score of five. From District 6, Tobias. A score of seven. From District 6, Cassandra. A score of four. From District 7, Alto. The score of seven. From District 7, Aloe. A score of six. From District 8, Baron. Score of seven. From District 8, Chambray. A score of three." The scores begin to drag on and I hate learning everyone's names. I'll most likely forget most of them by the time I get in the arena, but I can't help but to feel as if I know them personally now. I begin to lose interest but I keep eyes on the scores.

"From District 9, Lennox. The score of nine." Caesar says. This one takes me by surprise. There's no doubt in my mind that he'll be one of the first tributes my allies will target. "From District 9, Saffron. Score of five. From District 10, Atlas. The score of seven. From District 10, Trinity. A score of four. From District 11, Finbar. The score of eight." Wow. The guy who wants to kill me gets an eight. Higher than I expected. But not high enough for me to worry. "From District 11, Sylvetta. A score of five. From District 12, Garrett. A score of four. And finally. From District 12, Hazel. The score of eight." Caesar finishes reading. I'm surprised that the girl Britannia knocked down scored an eight! I expected her to get half of that. Caesar Flickerman signs off and the screen goes black.

"Wow, you guys! You got such high scores!" Tatiana shrieks.

"Good job, Daniel!" Finnick cheers. "There hasn't been a twelve in almost a decade! And you too, Alice! You scored better than most tributes!"

We celebrate our grand achievements with a magnificent chocolate cake. It is made up of several different layers and shaped like the number four. We eat and cheer for the rest of the night.

When I go to my bedroom, I strip off the training clothes for the last time, hop in the shower and, as a celebration to myself, press every luxurious button. _Might as well enjoy it while it lasts_, I think to myself. When the shower is over, the bathroom smells of so many beautiful scents I decide to stay a while longer in here and fill up the tub with warm water. After an hour, I dry myself and go to bed.

I wake up when the sun is well at the center of the sky and the clock indicates it is noon. As soon as I begin getting out of bed, my door slides open. In comes Tatiana. "Good morning, Daniel. Would you care to join us in the living room?" she says.

"Sure." I reply and follow her out wearing nothing but my sweatpants.

We bump into Alice in the hallway and I see she was just as lazy as I was this morning. She only wear small shorts and a sleeve-less shirt that exposes her lower back and stomach. We walk into the living room where Mags and Finnick sit.

"So what's the plan for today?" Alice asks, still half asleep and smoothing out her messy hair.

"Today you will have your presentation and content practice with us in preparation for the televised interviews tomorrow night. Tatiana will coach you each for four hours on presentation. Alice, I'll coach you on content and Finnick will coach you, Daniel." says Mags. Finnick extends his arm for a high-five and I, once again, meet him halfway. We all move to the dinning room and have breakfast. I gobble down my eggs, smoked sausages and hashbrowns. After we finish, we resume discussing the schedule.

"Daniel, your first four hours will be with me. I'll teach you everything about presenting yourself in an elegant style. Afterwards, I'll teach you Alice." Tatiana informs us. Ugh! I hate that I get Tatiana first but at least I can get this over with sooner rather than later. Alice and Mags then head to her room and Finnick heads to the elevator.

"Good luck, Daniel!" Finnick screams as the doors begin to close. He waves goodbye in such a childish manner I let out a couple of laughs. I wonder where he's off to.

"So what's first, Tatiana?" I ask long after Finnick is gone.

"I'll show you!" she says in such a delighted voice and leads me down to my room by the hand. Once inside, she has me trying on different clothes and shoes. She has me model around a few times and gives me tons of compliments. I don't see how any of this will help me. After a couple of hours she has me practicing my posture, gestures, smiling and eye-contact. All of which I exceed in. When the four hours are up, Finnick knocks on the door. Tatiana runs out and heads over to Alice's room. It is now Finnick's turn and he directs me to the balcony I have recently discovered.

"So what are we going to do with you, Daniel? What direction shall we take you in?" Finnick says as we sit down on the small bench.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"What I mean is, should we make you seem funny, intelligent, brutal..." he goes on.

Though I don't want to show my body anymore, it does some to be working for me so I have my own suggestion. "How about sexy?" I say while posing provocatively. I expect laughs from Finnick but instead a dark cloud forms on top of his head. I feel as if I have said something that ruined our time. "Or not. What's wrong, Finnick?" I ask.

He turns away from me and glares into the city. "Why would you want to be that, Daniel?" He growls at me. We sit in the awkward quiet for a few minutes. I consider getting up and leaving to my room. Just as I'm about to rise from the bench, Finnick begins talking again. He stares at the ground now, almost in shame. I can tell by the look on his face that he's debating over something in his mind. "You still want to know why I lashed out at Daphnee on the night if the opening ceremonies?" Finnick asks, now staring at me. I nod. He hesitates to get his voice out but eventually forces it. "After I won my Games, I was coveted by many here in The Capitol. When I turned sixteen, President Snow sold me, like he does many of the victors, to please his loyal subjects. I was forced to give my body to the citizens of The Capitol. That's why I'm known for being with everyone here." There is a long silence. "It's not a nice experience being used sexually. And obviously, many people find you attractive. So when I saw you in that costume, the first thought that went through my head was, 'if this kid wins, he will end up exactly like me.'" Finnick describes the horrible things he's been through to me. I had no idea he had gone through so much pain. There is another long silence. Nothing but the wind and the city below can be heard. When I decide that too much time has passed, I start again.

"I'm sorry this happened to you." I say. I don't know what else to say. I am at a loss of words knowing all these horrible revelations. "So where did all the money go?" I ask.

"I usually don't take money. All the money I need is supplied to me because of my victory. I take a different form of payment from my lovers. Secrets. I know things that could destroy the Capitol. But the secrets don't make up for the fact that I've been abused." he says.

There's a one last minute of silence. We both sit there and stare into the city. After a while I talk again. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."

Finnick struggles to find words. "It's okay. I'm used to it by now. But I figured that maybe I could save you from it. I've tried keeping others out of the Capitol's hands before, but they usually die in the arena." He says. Suddenly, his voice takes a cheerful tone. The same one I know Finnick for. "So, do you have any secrets worth my time?" He asks and we both burst out laughing.

"Don't get me excited, Odair!" I yell. And like that, we're back on track.

During our four hours together, he has me respond to many of his questions, as if it were the actual interview. I've always been good with a crowd so it's no problem with me. Confidence runs through me when I think of think of the interviews and I find myself happily anticipating the moment I'll walk on stage. I'm actually having fun and I'm disappointed when our time runs out.

At dinner we recap everything we have learned today. When I head to sleep, I skip the usual shower and head straight to bed.

I spend many hours awake. I am so close to facing my probable death. In a few days, I'll be in the arena, never to come out again. And what about Alice? Even if one of us wins, it'll be at the cost of the other's demise. I decide to walk around my room for a while instead of sleeping. When that gets old, I take a shower. I get back into the same clothes afterwards and try to go back to sleep. I can't! It's impossible tonight! I look at the clock and see it is four in the morning. I absolutely cannot sleep so I head out to the living room.

At first I am scared by the creature lying on the couch. I creep in closer and notice that it's Finnick sleeping. I realize this might be my only chance to get him for drawing on my face and run to my room for a marker. In the dim light coming in from the window, I draw the same things he drew on my face and more. I connect his eyebrows. I give him several moles. I step back to look at his face and dash to my room out of fear that I might laugh too loud. After a few minutes of silent laughing I drift into sleep.

I wake up in the morning to hear voices in my room. I look up and see my prep team. Augustus sets up several materials they will use. I sit up without a word. "Daniel! Good morning!" Augustus says. "I have news for you. This morning I saved you from Finnick. He kept on trying to get in your room with a marker, but Lysander and I wouldn't allow it. You're welcome." I smile. I guess I've won this little prank war. I hop out of bed and Lysander and Calista walk in. They strip me naked and bathe me the way they did on my first day. How childish they make me feel. After that is done. They have me lay in a table they've set up in my room and cover me from head to toe with a pink cream that smells like medicine. My prep team leaves me alone for about an hour. When they emerge again, I'm forced into another bath. The pink cream is washed away and they have me take a look at myself in the mirror. I look stunning. My skin is perfect. It's smooth and I find no flaw. My prep team continues working on me until late afternoon. By the time they are done with me, I look even more stunning than before.

Daphnee walks in with a black leather bag that conceals what I'll be wearing for the interview. Considering that my stylist is Daphnee, I'm surprised I'll be wearing anything at all! She hands me the bag and tells me to try it on. I begin for the bathroom and they all tell me to change here. I forgot about their no privacy rules. I remove the clothes from the leather bag. The entire outfit is made of soft silk but looks extremely formal. I pull on the dark pants and white button-on shirt. I slip the dark-blue vest over my head and pull out the white collar. Daphnee finishes off the outfit by putting a magnificent blazer over me that ties the whole look together. She hands me a new pair of leather shoes and I'm done. Calista brings in a chair from the dining room and has me sit on it while she styles my hair. She combs it back and adds a gel to it that smooths it. When my look is complete I head into the dining room with Daphnee, Calista, Lysander, and Augustus. Finnick, Mags, and Tatiana eagerly await us there. When they see me, the air is filled gasps.

"Wow!" they all scream.

Now I'm confident I look great! I walk as if I'm a model on the runway and get a few laughs from them. When the joking is over, Finnick takes me into the living room. "So are you ready for tonight?" he asks.

"Of course. I'm just a little nervous, but not enough to affect my answering." I say. I am nervous about going on stage and having Panem's eyes watch my every move. I am nervous about the 72nd Hunger Games officially starting tomorrow morning. I am nervous that this might be my last night alive. But I will not let it overcome me.

"Just remember everything Tatiana and I showed you yesterday, okay?" Finnick gazes into my eyes with care and concern.

"I won't forget it." I assure him.

Maximus then bursts in. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention! All the way from District 4. I give you the one and only...Alice Escalus!" he announces. Alice then walks in followed by her prep team. She looks absolutely amazing! Her dress, which highlights the curves of her body, matches the vest I sport but is encrusted with many small, but shiny, blue diamonds. It reaches all the way to the ground. Her hair is in big curls to the side of her head and her make-up brings out her beauty.

"Want to know what the best part of this whole get-up is?" she says sarcastically. She lifts her dress and pops out her foot, which is sheltered in almost-see-through heels. "They're diamond too. And they hurt!"

"But darling, you look beautiful!" joyfully shouts Daphnee.

All thirteen of us head for the elevator and my heart begins feels as if it'll jump out of my chest. The interviews are about to begin!

**A/N: We are so close to the arena! So a little bit more to go! What did everyone think of the tributes and their scores? Reviews are welcomed! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: It's Saturday, 7/20 everyone! The new Catching Fire Trailer is out today! Anyone else super excited?!**

The thirteen of us fit easily in the elevator, unlike the one in the Remake Center which could barely hold ten. We plummet from the fourth floor in a matter of seconds. When we reach the lobby, I see that half of the tributes are here. Everyone is being arranged in district order, the girls in front of the boys. Tatiana takes us over and plants us behind the tributes from 3.

I look around see all the other boys dressed just as formal as I am. But I can't shake of the feeling of being overdressed. It's not a feeling completely foreign to me. A couple months ago, I went to a school dance with the girl I was dating at the time. She had forced me into a suit while everyone else was wearing shorts and short-sleeve shirts.

In a few minutes, all of this year's tributes will walk into a stage that has been built just off the Training Center. We will each have three minutes to talk to the host, none other than Caesar Flickerman, and hope to attract sponsors. I don't think I'll have too much of a difficult time.

"I hope I don't trip and fall." says Alice.

"If you do, I'll go down with you." I joke. We laugh but remain silent until the rest of the tributes arrive. Music begins playing and from afar I see Mags and Finnick pointing at their own grinning faces. _Smile Daniel_, I think to myself and I begin flashing that winning smile that had won so many over.

The line begins moving and we parade onto the stage. The screaming of the crowd pierces my ears as we all take a seat. Evening has fallen but the city lights illuminate everything, just as they did on the night of the chariots. No matter where I look, I always manage to find a camera pointed at us, just like at the Reaping. The City Circle and the avenues that feed into it are full with tens of thousands of people.

Caesar Flickerman bounces onto the stage. This year, his hair, eyelids and lips are a luminous silver. I'm sure if I got close enough, I could see my reflection in his hair. He sports the same ceremonial suit, midnight blue with thousands of tiny bulbs, that he does every year. Caesar greets the audience and cracks a few jokes to warm them up. Topaz is the first one up. She steps up the center of the stage to join Caesar. I begin thinking about the Games.

In a matter of hours, I will be put in the arena to kill or be killed. I've seen the atrocities that have occurred in past years. But I'm confident in my skills. _Confident. Never arrogant_, I keep repeating in my head. You need confidence to win, but arrogance will always cost you your life. Happens every year.

My thoughts are running crazy when I notice Alice has sat down beside me for the second time. It's my turn to be interviewed! I have just enough time to hear Caesar call out my name. I walk over to the seat next to him while waving and blowing kisses at the audience. What must the people back home think of me now? Caesar extends his arm for a shake but I reach for a hug. I take a seat and begin my interview.

"Daniel, what a nice young man you are." Caesar starts off.

"Thank you. So are you Caesar!" I compliment. He laughs and the crowd cheers.

"So Daniel. Are you aware that so many people think of you as the most handsome tribute this year?" he asks.

"Really? I guess that's why so many people stare. I just thought there was something wrong with me." I say pointing to my nose. The audience laughs. I flash my winning smile and they go crazy. It's amazing, considering I just said the least witty thing I've said since I've been here.

"You're very funny! It's a delight having you here tonight. So tell me. What kind of arena are you hoping for?" Caesar asks.

"Any arena will be fine. I'm sure that our new head Gamemaker, Seneca Crane, will put on a stupendous show no matter what." I sound as if I'm looking forward to this. In reality I just want to curse these people and spit on the Capitol's name for dragging me into this mess of things.

"Handsome and charming! This one's a keeper, folks. Am I right?" Caesar laughs. The crowd goes crazy. These people with swallow any crap you feed them. When they quiet down, Caesar continues. "And what do you think of The Capitol?"

I lie. I lie like I've never lied before. To tell the truth would probably get me killed on the spot. "Well, for starters, the people here are beautiful!" The cheering resumes. I turn back to look at a couple of tributes with confused or disgusted faces. I smile and shrug at them. "And the food is delicious. There hasn't been a single moment I haven't spent eating." I say. By now, I'm sure I only have seconds left. I prepare to get up but Caesar shoots one last question.

"Lastly, what do you honestly think about participating in this year's Hunger Games?" he lets out. This is another question I will have to lie about.

"I think President Snow might as well place that crown on my head right now." I say. I immediately add, "And if I win, I get to see all of you again!" I say, gesturing into the audience. Once again, they go insane. I hear by buzzer go off and I make my way back to my sit between Alice and the girl from 5.

A huge wave of relief flows through my veins. My body feels as if a grand weight has been lifted off of it. I know I wasn't the best I could be but I did what I could at the moment. While the rest of the interviews go on, I come up with more charming and witty things I could have said. I scold myself for not saying them until I see everyone rise. We stand for the anthem and I see many of our faces flash on the giant screens in the streets. After the anthem, the tributes file back into the Training Center lobby and onto the elevator. While everyone awaits the next car's arrival, Alice and I wait at the sitting area we waited in that first night. Atticus, Topaz, Jasper, and Britannia soon joins us. We need to discuss what our plan will be tomorrow morning. We brainstorm together until we have a course of action.

"Okay, so here's the plan." says Atticus. He tells us the plan. Every small detail makes its way into my brain. We come up with different ideas in the case that something goes wrong. "So basically, Jasper, Alice, Britannia and I will slaughter the tributes that hang around and Daniel and Topaz secure the Cornucopia." Atticus finishes. Seems like a simple enough plan. We all head back to our rooms for our last guaranteed night.

Finnick, Mags, Tatiana, Daphnee and Maximus await us in the television room to chat about our interviews but both Alice and I decide to go to our rooms.

I take a shower and spring into bed. The festivities going on in the streets below keep me awake. The fear of dying keeps me alert. After a few hours of tossing and turn I give up on sleeping. The clock tells me it's two in the morning. I wander out into the hallway, not really sure where to go, and begin to maneuver around. I end up outside Alice's door. I wonder if she's still awake. I tap her door gently and in no time it opens. "Couldn't sleep either, huh?" Alice asks.

"No. I'm kind of worried about tomorrow." I say.

"Kind of?" she asks. I know I can't fool her. Her eyes are aware of my fear.  
"Okay, I'm terrified about tomorrow. What if I die?" I finally admit.

"I won't let that happen." Alice assures me. And I know she means it. Over the past few days, Alice and I have developed a special bond. I look up to her as if she were my older sister. "And besides, you can handle yourself."

She takes me over to the dining room. It's odd to see the whole place empty as opposed to the usually crowd that resides here. Alice makes us a special tea her mom makes back in District 4. For the next hour we talk about life in District 4. Our families. Our friends. Our lovers. Knowing that we might never see them again. We discuss how our fathers work together and how, on occasion, I ditch my boat to join them.

In the dim light, I notice a glimmering object hanging from Alice's neck. It's a necklace that reaches her breasts. It holds what appears to be a small, flat sapphire.

"That's a nice necklace. Is it your district token?" I ask.

"Yes. My mother gave it to me the day of the Reaping as a goodbye present. What do you have as your token?" Alice replies. The thought of bringing a token with me never crossed my mind.

"I don't have one." I say.

She seems to toss around a few thoughts in her mind. "Well I think you need one." Alice says. She then gets up and removes her necklace. She grabs my hand and places it at the center of my palm. I feel the weight bring my hand down.

"I can't take this." I say. "This is your token."

"And now I'm passing it to you. Consider it a thank you gift." Alice says.

Tears escape both our eyes. I wrap my arms around her. She _is_ a sister to me. The tears continue for a couple minutes. When they stop, we stand looking out the window silently. After about half an hour, Alice's voice returns. "You want to see something cool?" she asks.

"Like what?" I ask, holding the sapphire in my hands.

Alice leads me to the elevator. I'm not sure if we are allowed to be out at this time, or at any time, but I go ahead anyways. It's our last night here anyways. When we get inside, she smiles and clicks the button with the number twelve. "Mags told me that 12 gets a beautiful view from the roof. So I decided we should check it out ourselves." Alice says. We fly up eight stories and are deposited on the twelfth floor. The room is large and more extravagant than our floor. Alice guides me to a flight of stairs that have a door at the end of them. We go through it and emerge on the roof of the Training Center. I catch my breath at the view. You can practically see the whole city from here. The wind subdues almost every noise that is made. Alice says something but I can hear her over the loud wind. She gestures me to follow her. We walk to the edge of the building. I hear chimes in the not too far distance. I can see straight down the buildings wall from where I stand. People still crowd around the streets in celebration. By this time, most of District 4 would be dormant. Except for the few who spend their night lives at the bars.

Alice and I sit at the edge of the building, where warm spots still linger in the seats. Was someone just here? We watch the city lights without saying a word. The wind can do all the talking for us. I wonder if we are allowed up here at this time. I wonder if we are allowed up here at all. Maybe this roof is strictly for the tributes from 12. I stare down at the streets when Alice begins to talk. "They sound beautiful, don't they?" she asks.

Once again, I notice the chimes singing along with the wind. Across the dome from where we came from sits a garden. "Very beautiful." I concur.

"Can you believe we'll be in the arena in a few hours?" Alice asks. A few hours. That's all the time I have left. I wonder if and how I'll meet my death or who will be the one to kill me. Probably the boy from District 11, if he lives up to his promise.

"Alice. If I die, I hope you're the one that has to get home." I say.

"Let's promise each other something." she begins. "We'll stick together as long as we can go."

"Deal." I say with a futile smile.

For the next half hour, Alice and I try to keep up high spirits by talking of home. I'd thought that this conversation would bring tears, but instead, it's as if I find closure. It's not until we notice that the noise below has subsided that we realize how late it is.

Alice and I run back to the twelfth floor where we find a man sleeping in a pool of vomit on the floor. It's Haymitch Abernathy, the mentor for the District 12 tributes. I assume he must have been drunk before he vomited and passed out. He's always drunk. At least he is whenever he is broadcasted on television. No wonder the kids from his district always end up dying. He must be too wasted to ever help them. Seeing Haymitch like this makes me appreciate Finnick even more than I already did. At least I can expect some support from him.

We walk around Haymitch carefully and go down to our floor. I say good night and head to my own rooms, leaving Alice behind. I stare at my clock until the time register in my head. Three fifty-seven. I need to get some shut-eye or else I'm going to die in a couple hours. I put Alice's sapphire necklace that I've held in my hands around my neck and shut my eyes. It takes me a while to drift into my dream world, but when I finally do, all I wish for is to find the path back to consciousness. My dreams are filled with gore and bloodshed. At one point or another, Alice comes after me with her knives. She claws at my face with them. Different tributes get ripped to shreds and the ground is cover with teeth, bones, meat, and blood. I suppose I must have been screaming in my sleep because Finnick runs in to wake me up. I lift from my bed and see the sunlight coming in.

Today is the day the bloodshed begins.

**A/N: We are finally going to get to the arena! Im so excited! Anybody have any suggestions?**


	10. Chapter 10

Finnick wakes me up in the morning. My screaming must have rushed him to my room. After a while of gasping for air, my mind comes back to sentience. The clock on the nightstand tells me it's eight in the morning. I take a shower and Daphnee dresses me in plain clothes. They real outfit I'll wear in the arena will be given to us when we reach the Launch Room.

Finnick and Daphnee stay with me for the next thirty minutes. At nine, a Peacekeeper comes by to takes us up to the roof. Finnick and Daphnee come along, but a different Peacekeeper stops Finnick from going any further at the door that leads to the garden covered roof. He then turns to me. "Okay. I guess this is it." He says in a voice that's on the verge of anxiety. I wonder if he's ever gotten this attached to his past tributes. Besides Annie Cresta, of course. "You remember everything I told you. And you know how to survive. Stick with the others and when the game gets short, go off on your own. I'll try my best to help you." He says, gives me one last hug, and is taken back down the stairs by the Peacekeeper. This might be the last time I ever see Finnick. I don't even have enough time to respond. I am pushed through the door and see a hovercraft on the roof. Daphnee and I walk over and a ladder drops down from the hovercraft. When I get a grasp of the ladder, some sort of current freezes me, as if to prevent me from falling off or escaping, while I'm lifted into the hovercraft. Daphnee is soon by my side.

A woman in a white lab coat approaches me carrying a syringe. "Give me your arm!" she demands.

I find her tone quite rude and answer with a, "Uh, _please_?" and wait for the magic word. I can hear Daphnee giggling a few feet behind. The woman violently grabs my arm and inserts the needle into my left forearm without permission. A sharp pain darts into my veins. "What is it?" I ask, rubbing the area where the needle penetrated my skin.

"It's your tracker. Now the Gamemakers will be able to locate you in the arena." the woman in the white coat tells me while she walks away.

In her place a Peacekeeper appears and directs us to a room where breakfast has been laid out. I debate whether to eat or not. Images of food coming out of a slashed stomach bounce around in my mind. The hunger wins over and I begin to eat.

The view that the windows offer is an aerial version of the one from the trains. City transforming into wilderness. I feel like a circus animal, traveling from place to place for the entertainment of people. Only, unlike those animals, I don't go back into the cage after the show. Instead, whatever remains of me is disposed of.

The ride last about half an hour before the windows black out. We must be nearing the arena. My heart begins accelerating. Who knows what sort of environment I shall be placed in or what traps await to take the live of unsuspecting tributes? A jungle, a tundra, or maybe even an ocean. Either way, the Gamemakers will find a way for death to find us.

The hovercraft lands and Daphnee and I go back to the ladder. We are deposited underground and I see no other tribute. I feel completely alone. Daphnee is given instructions as to which path to follow and takes me down the catacombs. The Launch Room I occupy is brand-new. Everyone's is. I have a last few bites of food and clean my teeth. The clothes soon arrive, the same for every tribute. Every inch of the outfit the tributes will be wearing in the arena is black. Black cargo pants covered in bags, black study belt, a black long-sleeve shirt that seems to be made up of two different layers, and black leather boots. I tuck in the necklace Alice gave me into my shirt.

"Looks like you're ready. Now we just have to wait for the call." Daphnee says in a voice that holds no excitement what so ever. I guess she's kind of sad to see such a good looking person head into a fight where everyone but one person dies.

The Games will start at ten. They always do. The Capitol citizens get up no earlier than that. I only have a few minutes to go. I could be dead in an hour. I've been preparing for this day my whole life. Never in my wildest nightmare would I imagine I'd be here, within the clutches of termination. I hope that all the training at The Academy and with my dad gets me out. But what about Alice? I don't want to see her die. My thoughts are cut off by a pleasant female voice announcing it's time to prepare for launch. Daphnee immediately springs up and tightly hugs me. "Daniel. I just want you to know that you were an amazing tribute to work with. You were the only tribute I've had that never question my work." Daphnee is now in tears. She quickly wipes them away, noticing that I am in danger of producing my own. Daphnee regains herself, smiles and says one last thing to me. "And may the odds be _ever_ in your favor." It comes out in the form of a quick joke.

Anxiety transforms into total fear as Daphnee walks me over to the tube that will lift me into the arena. Why should I be worried at the start of the game? I'll have a team and we already made a plan. But I know that, sooner or later, it'll turn into a free-for-all.

I turn to give Daphnee one final hug. "Tell everyone I said goodbye and that I appreciated everything they did for Alice and I, will you?" I ask. I'm not sure what else to say. Daphnee nods and I step into the tube. A glass cylinder closes around me. Complete and utter fear runs inside me. I look in every direction, looking for an escape, but remember that the only escape is death. Daphnee waves goodbye and the cylinder I stand on begins to rise. I'm in darkness for what I assume is around ten seconds, but it feels like an eternity, when I begin feeling wind. The sudden bright sunlight that engulfs my eyes after being in the dark leaves me feeling blind. The smell of rusting metal and gas fills my nose. I start regaining sight and can make out long shadows overcasting the grounds around me. Then I hear the legendary announcer, Claudius Templesmith, as his voice roars all around. "Ladies and gentlemen, lets the 72nd Annual Hunger Games begin!"

The countdown initiates. Sixty seconds is what some of us have left of living. A million thoughts go through my mind. For a small second, I debate whether or not to just jump off my pedestal and let the mines blow me to bits. I decide against the idea. I need to fight to get home.

My eyes are fully adjusted to the daylight and what I see astonishes me. Buildings! Skyscrapers! Rising into the sky! This is what casting the shadows. I look at the ground around me and find the Cornucopia, the golden horn, about forty yards from where I stand. Trees make a circular wall around a large field of flat grass. The trees behind me are about forty yards away from my pedestal. Items are scattered all around the field before us. About five yards from where I stand lies a red backpack. I'm sure it's full of small survival tools. It will be the first thing I grab. Bits of other materials lay closer on the floor, but they seem almost worthless. I can see the big crates waiting for me and Topaz at the mouth, but who knows what lies inside. I face the Cornucopia almost directly. I can look directly into the mouth, which could easily be twenty feet high. I'm positioned with the girl from District 9 to my right and the boy from District 7 to my left. Next to the boy from 7 stands Britannia. Two spots down from her is where Alice is, standing between the girl from 12 and the boy from 11, the one that threaten to kill me in the arena. I'll make sure to watch out for him.

The countdown is at twenty when I look at Britannia and Alice, each of whom give me a reassuring look. My heart is racing. I stare at the clock at the top of the Cornucopia's mouth for the remainder of the countdown.

Five. Four. Three. Two. One. The gong goes off.

I race towards the golden Cornucopia as fast as I can. I reach the red backpack and scoop it up. I then see Jasper, to my far right, dash past everyone else and reach the Cornucopia. He grabs a machete from a pile of weapons and immediately goes on the onslaught. Everything is a blur. My eyes lock on Jasper and that's when I see it. Jasper runs right at the boy from 9, Lennox, the one that got a nine as his training score, and violently swings the machete into his chest. Blood, bone, and pieces of organs burst out. Immediately, Lennox falls to the ground. I guess that nine did attract predators.

I continue running and I see several tributes fighting with their bare hands, such as Atticus, who is strangling the boy from 6. The moment I took to watch Jasper's kill has cost me time and distance. By now, most people have reached the Cornucopia, but several still wander around without a single clue on which direction to go. Alice, Atticus and Britannia run out with weapons and Topaz and I begin to open the crates and inspect them. Inside mine I find nothing but sharp metal weapons. I pull the crate down to the ground when Topaz looks up, warning in her eyes. "Look out!"she yells. I look back to see the dark skinned boy from 11 about five feet away, knife in his muscular hands. He slashes at the air where I stood not even a second ago. I fall to the ground and, with my leg, sweep him down. His knife falls out of his hands and into mine. Without thinking, I immediately slice his throat. He coughs and his blood jumps up at me.

Guilt, as I've never felt before, covers the adrenaline running in my veins. I can't believe I just took a human life, and how easy it was to do it. But at the same time, I acted in self-defense. He was the one targeting me since training but ended up getting killed. Poor Finbar.

Topaz and I look through every crate and gather materials. The first one I checked only contained weapons, but other crates have food and useful materials. I hear the agonizing screams coming from a few yards away. I want to shut the sounds off, but they just keeps playing. I maneuver around Finbar's body and run out to see the girl from 8 take an arrow in the eye from the District 12 girl. Hazel's her name, I think. Hazel then disappears between the trees. Within a few more minutes, the fighting has stopped. Eight dead bodies lay on the bloodstained grass. I don't even look at their faces just in case I find some sort of disturbing disfigurement. The bloodbath is over.

Everyone then walks back in my direction to regroup. I hadn't even noticed that Topaz had left the Cornucopia.

"Great job, everyone." Atticus says, almost casually.

Topaz and I begin to show the other Careers our findings when the first cannon sounds. It's soon followed by another. And another. Eight cannons in total are what I hear. Eight gone means there are still sixteen of us left. The carnage has ended, for now. The Gamemakers must be waiting for us to move to pick up the bodies.

"Let's move out for a few minutes while they pick those up." Alice says, nodding her head towards the field full of death. In her hand she carries a bloody spear.

We walk together in silence towards the trees. The only clue we have to warn us what awaits on the other side are the giant buildings. We find a walkway in the cluster of trees and emerge on a city street. The arena is a giant city! Skyscrapers with shattered windows and broken streets fill my eyes. Nature seems to fight its way back into the metropolitan. Not only is this a city, but an abandoned city that looks like it was left to waste.

We walk across the street and enter the giant lobby of what might be a hotel. The chirping birds go mute, except for one, and I turn to look back at the small park where the Cornucopia is. The hovercraft appears out of nowhere. Silently, it lowers its claw and lifts what remains of the eight dead tributes. In the split of a second, it's gone. It's pretty sad to think that those eight tributes, including Lennox and Finbar, were well and happy just days ago and now they've been wiped from existence. Never to be seen again.


	11. Chapter 11

"Okay. The hovercraft is gone. Let's go get those crates." I say. We walk back the way we came from. When we reach the Cornucopia, the bodies have disappeared. The blood stained grass is back to its original green. It unsettles me how quickly the bloodbath came to an end. Usually, from what I've seen over the years, the bloodbaths can take from a half-hour to a couple hours. This time, it seemed to be over within ten minutes. Most of the tributes managed to get to the Cornucopia, get a few weapons and food and escape into the city without having to face a confrontation. I wonder how far everyone has gotten. Besides ourselves, ten others are running around in the city.

Everyone begins taking what they want from the crates. I use this time to inspect what came in the red backpack I got. I'm surprised to find nothing inside. The backpack was not too far from where I was positioned, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. Maybe the other backpacks that the other tributes ran with are empty too. I fill my backpack with plenty of food and first-aid materials. I grab as many throwing knives as I can get and several other weapons. Alice gets her hands on a small trident, the only one I've seen.

"So, what's the plan now?" asks Topaz.

"For now, let's get the rest of these things out of here and into one of those buildings." Atticus answers. For the next couple hours, Jasper, Topaz, Alice, Atticus, Britannia and I drag the crates from the Cornucopia, across the street, and into the hotel lobby where I watched the hovercraft take the bodies away. The entire time is filled with bragging of each kill they've made, which I find despicable.

We finish loading every item into the lobby around what I judge to be three in the afternoon by the position of the sun in the sky. "Now we just need to find out what kind of arena we are in." says Jasper.

"We can scout the arena." Britannia suggests.

"No. We don't know how big this arena is. We could get lost and not find out way back to the crates." Atticus replies.

"Then what do you suggest we do?" asks Alice.

"Well, the buildings are pretty tall. I bet we could see the majority of the arena from up there." says Atticus. "We can send two people up while the rest of us guard these babies." Atticus rubs the crates.

"I'll go." I say. I volunteer because I want to see exactly what we are dealing with. I don't trust my allies completely.

"I'll go with you." Jasper says.

"Great. So what building do we climb?" I ask.

"Try that one. It looks pretty tall." Alice says while pointing to a building that might be seventy stories high. Jasper and I each grab a telescope from the crates and make our way down the streets. It's a five minute walk from our hotel and we keep our hands on our weapons at all times.

Walking down the street is eerie. The Gamemakers really took their time making sure this arena seem as an abandoned city. The streets are lined with cars. From here, I can see two giant skyscrapers. They could both possibly be a hundred stories high and there is no doubt in my mind that they are the tallest buildings in the arena.

Jasper and I enter our building and climb all the way to the roof. It takes a good hour because we stop and rest a couple of times. Some of the floors are destroyed as well, and we have to find different was of rising. But eventually, we reach the roof. I am taken aback by the view from here. Buildings cover the Cornucopia for view but from here I can see most of the arena. Buildings rise everywhere. For miles they spread until they are met by what I assume to be forest from here. I take out the high-tech telescope and get a better view. The buildings _do _rise everywhere for miles. Although the further they are from the Cornucopia, the shorter they become. North-west from where I'm perched stand the towers. The two identical skyscrapers that surpass everything in height. They stand next to a flowing river. The buildings block most of my view of the river but I see it heads north. I try to follow it and find a giant lake. Next to it seems to be smoke rising from the ground. I zoom in with the telescope and see that it is a power plant. I recognize it because of all the images of power plant remains they show on television whenever a District 13 update is on. From the symbols on the side of the building, I assume it's a nuclear power plant. Better stay away from that.

I zoom in even more with the telescope and find a humongous meadow made up of many hills to the far north. It stretches for miles and is wide open. Nothing's concealed. I trace the river down south and end up at an even larger lake than the one up north. The lake collides with a forest that extends from south to west. This forest reminds me of the wilderness Alice and I saw on our way to The Capitol. It's made up of a combination of different trees.

To the east is another forest. It's much different than the south-western one. This forest seems to be made up exclusively of pine trees. They are so densely packed that little sunlight seems to hit the ground there. I notice one last thing. The forests and the hills seem to enclose us in a circle. Beyond them is nothing but what looks like barren wasteland. When I remove the telescope from my eye, all I can see is a thin, faded green line of the forests in the distance.

"It's huge!" I say to Jasper. I turn to look at him and see the same surprised expression behind his telescope. "Wow." is all he manages to let out. We admire the view for a great deal of time. Almost an hour passes when the sun begins to set on our first day in the arena. It must be seven by now. I take one last look through my telescope. I stare into the two huge buildings, I decide to name the Towers. Seems easy enough to remember. And suddenly my vision goes black.

I remove the telescope from my eye and see a black bird perched on the others side of the building, staring at Jasper and I. I step closer to get a better look. A crow! I've never seen one before in District 4, but I recognize it from the books my dad has had me read. I would kill it as a meal but there's not much meat on it and there is plenty of food back at the hotel lobby. I step closer, trying to scare it off, but it doesn't move. I take an even closer took. It has all the characteristics a crow would have. That's when I notice its beak. It is about two inches long and horribly curved and sharpened. Without warning, the bird lets out a caw, springs on me, and digs its sharp beak into the upper part of my left arm. A mutt! I immediately stab and kill the bird. Small amounts of blood run down my arm and Jasper runs to my side. "What just happened?" he asks, shocked.

"I thought it was a crow, but it turned out to be a mutt. We better get back to the others in case more of those damn birds show up." I say while taking out a small piece of bandage out of my red backpack. I wrap it around my arm to contain the bleeding.

The trip back down to the street takes long enough for the moon to begin its rise. It should be around eight now. In a couple of hours, the anthem will come on and show the deaths of the day. Jasper and I make our way back to the camp where the others have begun to set up a meal.

"Where have you two been? We were starting to think you got trapped or something." says Topaz.

"The view from up there is amazing. The only thing that went wrong is that Daniel got attacked." Jasper says, gesturing towards me.

A look of concern crosses Alice's face. "By another tribute?" she asks.

"No. I found a crow, but it had sharp, curved beak. I didn't realize it was a mutt until it was digging into my arm." I say, bringing my wound to sight.

"I got some of the food ready to eat." Atticus cuts in. We sit around and begin to eat. As we eat, Jasper and I describe our findings to the rest of the Careers. We eat and chat in peace for about an hour at the front desk of the lobby. I suddenly begin developing and eerie feeling. As if we're being watched. Of course, we are always being watched by The Capitol and the districts, but I feel as if someone is physically near. It takes a few seconds for me to register that something is wrong. I look towards the front doors where some of our crates still lay. Several of the crates are opened by a few inches. Before I can even say anything, Britannia grabs her axe and runs towards the doors. Everyone else falls into a state of confusion, but I know what's going on. Someone is here, trying to steal from our crates.

I run right after Britannia. She bursts through the doors and we all chase after her. About a hundred yards ahead runs a dark figure. The figure then takes a hold of vines that hang from the side of a building and attempts to climb it, knowing it could never outrun us. He gets about thirty feet in the air when Britannia turns up below him. With a brutally strong swing, her axe flies upwards, into the tribute's back. The figure falls and I hear the hard crunch of his skull cracking against the concrete. If the axe didn't kill him, the fall sure did. Just then, his cannon goes off. I examine the remains. The back of his head is demolished and the axe Britannia threw in his back begins to exit in his chest. I look at his face and immediately recognize him. It's the boy from District 3! Britannia yanks the axe out of the boy and heads back to camp with the others. They act as if nothing had happened. I turn from the boy and make my way back as well.

"Fifteen to go." says Atticus as I walk in. That makes nine dead within the first day. I try to keep the horrors I've seen today at the back of my mind and join in the conversation. We talk about how home is back in each of our districts. Apparently, they have a machine that turns graphite into diamonds in District 1. During the discussion, I notice a clock on my far left. At first I don't think much of it, but soon I realize that its hands are moving. If the time is right, it is eleven fifty. I keep my eye on the hands and when the clock strikes twelve anthem commences.

We all look at the windows and see the Capitol seal followed by the pictures of the dead. The first one is the boy from 3, who died only minutes ago. He is followed by both tributes from 6, the little girl from 7, the girl from 8, both from 9, the boy from 11, and the boy from 12. And then the sky goes back to dark.

We begin to set up our sleeping bags. Pretty soon it'll be time for bed. "So who's staying up first?" I ask. Everyone stays silent. They look back and forth to see if anyone is willing to go first. "I guess I'll take the first shift." I finally say.

"Wake me up when you get tired." says Alice and they all begin to lie in their sleeping bags.

The next couple hours are uneventful. I only hear the sounds of nature. Owls in the trees across the street. Winds picking up. I keep myself entertained by carving a target on the wall below the clock and practicing my knife throwing. Not that it's needed. When fatigue begins to win over, I awake Alice and she resumes my post. I drift into a nightmarish sleep.

My dreams are filled with Finbar. The way he swung his knife at me only to be dropped and have his throat slashed open. The gaping whole looking back at me. What might his family and district think of me. Lennox then emerges into my dreams. He runs towards Jasper but his chest only keeps exploding. And the boy from 3. I keep seeing the back side of his head shatter when it hits the floor. It worries me that in a few days that might be me. But why should I worry. I'm the best trained tribute this year. That still doesn't mean that any one of the other tributes could easily annihilate me. If I begin underestimating my competition, or even overestimating myself, I'll become an easy victim.

The dreams don't terrify me, but more so, unease me. They continue on all night. I feel as if I might never wake up from these horrid images. Slowly I begin to come to. My mind begins to awaken but my eyes stay closed. Bits of grey light seep through my eyelids. I'm about to fall back to sleep when the sound of a cannon immediately awakes Alice, Topaz, and I.

"Where's Jasper?!" Topaz lets out in a terrified shriek. I didn't notice until now that Jasper was missing from the group. Topaz tells us how Alice woke her up a few hours ago to stay on guard but Jasper volunteered instead. Topaz and I head out into the streets. We run in the gravel when the ground suddenly opens. Jasper emerges from a manhole that goes underground. Topaz runs and helps a tired Jasper out of the sewers. Wow. This arena is very detailed. It even have sewers. We take a terrified Jasper back to base.

"Jasper! Where were you?" Britannia asks.

There is a small moment of silence where Jasper tries to unscramble his thoughts. His voice fills with panic and finally lets out. "Don't go in the sewers."


	12. Chapter 12

"Don't go in the sewers? Why? What happened down there? And why were you down there?" Atticus asks many questions.

Jasper tries to unscramble his thoughts once again. "During my shift, I heard rustling around the crates. I thought it might have been you guys but everyone was asleep. I grabbed my knife and saw the girl from 10 run out of the building and chased her, but she jumped into the sewers. I followed her in and stayed on her trail for a while, but it was nearly impossible. I couldn't see anything so I just followed the sound of her footsteps. Then I started hearing other footsteps. That's when the screaming began. It wasn't just her screams, but also the wild shrieks of some sort of animal." Jasper eyes portray fear and worry. Everyone stares as he tells us his story. "There is something in the sewers. So, no matter what, don't go in there." Jasper finally sewers. Who knows what lurks in the dark underground.

I don't really know what our next plan should be but Atticus always seems one step ahead. "That makes two people that have stolen something from our crates. I think we should move our camp." he says.

"Where to? And why should we? Everyone who has stolen from us is dead." Britannia replies.

"Well, I agree with Atticus. We have to move the crates. Someone's bound to escape with something valuable one of these days." Topaz says.

"So does everyone agree with me?" asks Atticus. His attention turns to Britannia.

Britannia rolls her eyes. "I guess." she finally answers.

We spend the rest of the daylight moving the big heavy crates from the hotel lobby to a building that's halfway to the river. How boring we must be to watch right now. Our day has been uneventful so I wonder if the other tributes are giving the audience a show. The boom of a cannon answers my question. Another death. I wonder how that one happened. Aside from most of the bloodbath, us Careers are responsible for only one death so far. "Who do you think it was." I say. Not that I care much. Just a step closer to victory.

"Guess we'll find out tonight." says Alice.

At night, we set up camp in the ruins of a restaurant. Jasper goes into the restroom and, surprisingly, they work. I wonder if the entire arena has plumbing. Maybe water even runs in the sewers below us. Though we have matches, I set up a fire the way I learned to do so back in The Capitol. We begin to eat when the anthem comes on. Again, the Capitol seal appears followed by the faces of the dead. The girl from 5 and the girl from 10. Atticus volunteers to take the first shift as night-watch and the rest of us head to sleep.

Two days in the arena and the worst thing that has happened to me is getting my arm drilled by the crow muttation. Maybe this will be easier than I thought. Fatigue then overpowers me.

I'm awaken in the morning by Atticus. I'm the last one to rise. Everyone is already moving the crates through the car filled streets. Within a couple hours, we arrive at the highway next to the lake. We cross the highway into a small collection of trees where we conceal every single crate with the vines, grass, and branches the trees offer.

I ration out a small amount of food for us to eat but Jasper and Britannia complaint that it's not enough. When we are done with our meal, we get back to business.

"Now that we finally have our things hidden, we should begin hunting. I can't imagine how unexciting we must look right now." Atticus says.

"I'm sure some people headed for the forests. We can go look there." says Jasper.

"Okay. But we'll need to prepare first." Alice cuts in.

"Right. What should we take?" Atticus asks.

"Well, food for sure. Those forests are several miles from here and it can take us a pretty long time to return to the crates. We might also need first aid materials. In case anyone gets hurt." I inform them. We all gather enough food for two days. Better safe than sorry. I secretly shove extra supplies in my backpack in case something goes wrong.

Our group walks south, following the highway, for about three hours. The journey down the road is pretty quiet. Most of us keep out hands on our weapons and our eyes on alert. We walk another mile and the buildings begin to shrink. These are not as high as the skyscrapers in "downtown". From what I saw on the roof, I can say that the buildings were split into areas. The tallest buildings are at the center of the arena, around the Cornucopia. I'll call this downtown. We now walk around buildings that average between forty to sixty stories. This, I'll call midtown. And with my telescope, I saw the buildings towards the edge of the arena as being the smallest. I decide to call that area the suburbs. Past the city is wilderness.

The quiet journey is interrupted by a loud caw. I trace the noise up to a crow perched on a telephone lines that run across the city. For a moment we all pay attention to the crow. I then notice its beak. "It's a mutt." I inform the others.

"Like the one that attacked you?" asks Jasper. The memory of the attack brings my fingers up to the wound on my upper left arm.

"Yeah. They're not too dangerous, though. It only dug about half an inch into my skin before I killed it."

"Well, everyone should be careful of those. Who knows what they could do if they show up in a group." Atticus says. And just like that, two more crow mutts fly onto the telephone line.

We continue walking down the middle of the highway for several minutes, not paying much attention to the trio of birds above us that keeps getting left behind. Little by little, my anxiety begins to rise. Adrenaline begins pumping through my veins and I can't shake the feeling of being watched. I feel the eyes running up and down my back, just like they did during my time in The Capitol, but this is more insidious. Curiosity gets the best of me and, once again, my eyes dart up. Fear immediately shoots through me. Not five, or ten, or even twenty, but maybe a hundred of those crows have crept onto the telephone line. I tap Britannia in the back and whisper to everyone, "I think you guys should look at this." Everyone sees them now. And the crows see us. They begin their cawing orchestra. It fills the air with dread. Atticus opens his mouth as if to say something but without warning, the crow mutts swoop down on us.

For a few moments we try to fight back, but there's too many. I slash at them with my knife but I'm overpowered. I feel, not only the beaks, but also claws digging into me. "Run for the building!" Atticus yells. We run towards an empty building that resembles a bank. When we finally manage to close the doors, several crow mutts still cling to us. We quickly kill the remaining birds and watch the flock go insane outside the windows. All of us are covered in blood. Small bits of pain cover my punctured skin.

"Is everyone okay?" Britannia asks.

I examine my bloody body and find no wound any greater than the one I received on the first day. I have cuts on my arms, legs, back, and chest. I made sure to protect my face.

"Yeah I think so." I say. But I can see that Topaz is in serious pain. I walk over to her and inspect her blood-soaked body. She doesn't seem to have any injuries worse than mine. Then I find a deep puncture in her lower back. A punctured that, if left untreated, will cause her to bleed to death. I immediately go to work on it, wiping the blood away and disinfecting the hole with the materials obtained at the Cornucopia. Because the blood won't stop running, even after doing everything I've learned from my dad, I take to my last resort. I use alcohol to disinfect my knife. I grab a few matches and start a fire. I then dip the blade in the heart of the flame. Everyone stares at me in confusion while cleaning their own wounds. I then take the hot blade of out the fire.

"What are you going to do with that?" Topaz asks in a panicked voice.

"If you keep bleeding, you'll die in a couple hours. I'm going to try to cauterize the wound."

Without any further word, I begin the process. At first, the pain is too much for Topaz that she quakes around. Eventually she manages to stay still enough. When I finish, I wrap bandages around her injury. Topaz then falls unconscious.

Atticus and Jasper haul her up to the second floor where we will most likely spend the rest of the day. The crows have yet to disappear. If anything, they have multiplied. They launch themselves against the windows and are killed on impact. It's a horrific scene.

Topaz is laid on a couch. The birds have left the windows downstairs and now crash into the second story windows. Hopefully, these windows are strong enough to keep them out. Alice, Britannia, Jasper, Atticus, and I allow ourselves to relax when we see the crows beginning to vanish.

"That was pretty impressive. They taught you that in District 4?" Atticus asks.

"Sort of." I simply say. I don't want to give too much information away, knowing that we are on every screen in Panem right now.

During the crow mutt attack, clouds began to cover the sun. Now I have no way of telling what time it is. But soon enough night comes and with it Topaz. We begin to set up supper. "I guess it was a good idea that we overpacked on food, huh?" says Topaz as see reaches for a piece of turkey and bread.

"How are you doing, Topaz?" I ask.

"I'm okay. It's just that my back hurts a lot." she replies.

"I'm sorry. But at least you're not dead. Is there anything we can do to take your mind off of the pain?" I ask. Topaz rubs her arm as her eyes scan the room.

"No. I think I'll have something to eat and go back to sleep." she says.

After we have our dinner, I grab a spear and head out. "I'll be right back." I say.

"Where are you going?" Alice asks.

"We're so damn dirty. I'm going to try to find an apartment with showers. Apparently, plumbing seems to work in this arena." I answer. A worried look rises in Alice's face.

"What if those crows show up again?" she asks.

I guess I forgot about the mutts. I grabbed my spear only thinking of other tributes. But if I am ambushed by those crows again, I should have no problem escaping them. "I'll check buildings within the block. If they show up again, I'll just come back. They usually stand unmoving for several seconds before attacking." I say as I head down the hall. I walk down the stairs and cross the first floor. The windows seem to have taken a large amount of damage and are covered in blood. However, the remains of the dead crows are nowhere to be seen.

I exit onto the street and head for the building next door. I seem to have stumble into another hotel-like lobby. It's a small room with a front desk directly across the doors. An elevator stands to the far left and a broken door to the right. Behind the door are stairs. I only walk up to the second floor and find an apartment. I run into the bathroom and give the faucet in the shower a turn. Yes! Running water! Warm running water! Quickly, I run back to the others to tell them about the shower. I can't hold in my excitement. I'm like a Career child on their first day of training. Bursting with joy. Today is our third day in the arena and not once have any of us bathed. When I tell the others about my findings they seem just as ecstatic as I am.

Everyone takes turns showering. One person showers while two others guard. The other three stay in the second story of the bank. I shower last. I decide to remove most of my clothes outside of the shower curtains. Maybe sponsors will notice it and decide to send me a few gifts. By the time I get out of the shower, the anthem has already played. No deaths today. Had I not done to Topaz what I did, there probably would have been a face in the sky tonight. It probably would have been better to let her die. It would have meant once less threat to worry about. But Topaz is my ally, and she has been nothing but nice to me since the day I met her. I can't afford to be saving everyone, otherwise, it'll lead to my own demise. So I decide that saving Topaz was a mistake. From now on, if someone is dying, I'll let them die. I don't want to, but how else am I going to get home?

Britannia takes the first nightwatch shift tonight. My sleep is dreamless. Britannia awakes me a few hours later. There are no clocks in the room and clouds block my view of the stars, but I assume it must be around three in the morning. I keep myself entertain my throwing knives at different targets. My mind begins to think of the other tributes. Where is the girl from 12? How is she surviving? What about the little boy from 5? Or the little girl from 3?

A couple hours pass and the first streaks of sunlight begin to rise in the horizon. The clouds are finally gone. I feel a bit sleepy so I wake up Alice and she quickly takes guard. Soon enough, I fall to fatigue.


	13. Chapter 13

Once again, I am the last one to awaken. Alice takes me down to the first floor where everyone is gathered. Topaz seems to have recovered enough from her injury to begin to move.

"So what's our next move?" asks Jasper.

"Well, I guess we can keep walking towards the forests. I'm fairly certain that the crates are very well hidden." I say.

"Are you sure we shouldn't just head back?" Atticus asks.

"If we ration our food, we can make it last another day. And we have enough medical utilities in case of trouble." I tell Atticus, who, for some reason, seems to have evolved into the leader of the pack.

"Okay then. We'll keep going for a few more hours. But at the end of the day, we are headed back." Atticus says.

We leave the building and get back on the highway that's parallel to the river. If we keep following this trail, eventually we'll end up at the large lake.

"Isn't it weird? The fact that we've been in the arena for four days now and, aside from the bloodbath at the Cornucopia, we've only seen two other tributes." Topaz states. I suppose it is strange. This arena is already incredibly huge, but with the buildings added to the mix, it might be nearly impossible to find each other without Gamemaker interference.

We walk for hours down the wide road. It is beyond unexciting. Around four in the afternoon, we decide to have lunch. I set up the food and we sit down and eat in the middle of the road. Though we're out in the open, I doubt there will be a single tribute around. I'm starting to think us six are the only ones in this arena.

When we begin to pack up and keep walking, I hear a caw in the distance. I know everyone else heard it too because we all have our attention to the sky. Suddenly, the one caw turns into many, and they're approaching fast! Topaz gets out her sword. Alice takes a hold of her small trident. Britannia and Atticus reach for their axes and Jasper and I, our spears. We huddle together in a circle, backs to each other. Then I see them. A black cloud races in our direction. Hundreds of crow mutts make their way to us. Too many to fight and, at the speed they are flying, there's no time to escape. I brace myself for the worst. Feeling death reaching for me, I position my spear. What happens next is unexpected.

The black cloud simply flies over us. The cawing right above us is extremely loud that several of us cover our ears. The inauspicious cloud of black flies away from us and disappears behind the buildings.

"What the hell?" Alice lets out. "Should we keep going?"

"Uh, yeah. I don't think we are in any danger." says Atticus.

We walk for a few minutes and, out of nowhere, a cannon goes off. Another death? How did this one die? Topaz turns and asks the question we are all thinking of. "Do you think it was the crows?"

"Probably. They must have been headed to the tribute when we saw them. We should take cover just in case those things return." Jasper says.

Could the crow mutts be what killed that tribute? After seeing what they did to Topaz's back, I can't imagine how the other tribute ended up.

We take concealment in a small store. After about an hour of waiting, Atticus decides that it's safe enough to leave. Twilight sits on the horizon. "Let's head back. We haven't seen anyone and we only have enough food for a few more meals." Atticus says. It's true. Food is becoming scarce and the trip back will take us almost a day.

For the next couple hours, we turn and head back north. It won't be hard at all to locate our crates. We simply follow the highway until we reach the small collection of trees that house our things. At around midnight, the anthem comes on and the District 11 girl's face is flashing in the sky. Both tributes from 11 are now gone. One of them killed at my hands. We set up dinner and lay out our sleeping bags. Alice takes the first shift.

Tonight, my dreams are visited by the crows. I stand in a mist, caws coming from every direction. One by one, they hop into view and without warning, I'm torn to shreds. I wake up gasping for air.

Atticus is automatically up with his axe in his hand. He must have taken the shift after Alice. When Atticus sees that there is no danger, he lowers the axe and begins to speak. "What's wrong?" he asks.

"Nothing. Just a bad dream. You can get some rest now if you want. I'm not in the mood for sleeping anymore." I say.

"No. I'm not tired either. We can keep watch together." he replies.

I roll up my sleeping bag and go to sit next to Atticus. For a few minutes we sit silently, throwing several knives at a target to pass the time. He then breaks the silence. "So, did you want to be here?" he asks.

I'm a bit confused by his question. Is he asking if I would have volunteered for the Games? I take a deep breath. "Not really. Did you?"

"Kind of. Winning the Hunger Games would bring me great honor and respect. And besides, I have been preparing for quite a while." Atticus says. I know he means he's been training. It's just that we can't directly say that while we have cameras that hear our ever word. Training is technically illegal.

A couple more moments pass and I ask Atticus, "So what happened in 2 last year that caused me to be here now?"

"Oh, you mean at the reaping?" he asks. I nod my head to confirm. "It was actually pretty crazy. In District 2, whoever will volunteer is usually agreed upon beforehand." This takes me a bit by surprise. So many people wanting to volunteer that they need a system for it. In District 4 there are usually very little people who volunteer, so the escort just chooses the volunteer from the small pool of willing fools that raise their hands after a name is called out.

Atticus continues. "Last year no one could agree on who was going into the arena and it ended up erupting out at the reaping. When the name was called, several people threw up their hands and a riot started. Hundreds of Peacekeepers had to be brought in to quell the trouble. When nothing worked, they started shooting into the crowd. I was shot during the chaos. See?" Atticus raises his pants and exposes a circular scar on his lower leg. "I got this while running away. Others weren't as lucky though. Thirty were left dead and several more injured. There was talk that, as punishment, no volunteering would be allowed the following year, which President Snow ended up confirming a couple months ago. Thank goodness I was lucky enough to get reaped, though."

To me, getting reaped for the 72nd Hunger Games has been the worst event of my life. Not to Atticus. He feels "lucky", blessed even. I find it so appalling that I decide to end the conversation. But a couple minutes later, Atticus begins again.

"So, tell me about District 4." he says.

"What do you want to know?" I ask.

"How's 4? What's it like living there?" Atticus turns his body to face me. I hesitate for a moment, but eventually do the same.

"Well, 4 is a large district. There are several villages scattered within our borders, but the main town is large and stretches along the coast for many miles. I live in the main town, where I've worked as fisherman since I was five. I learned to swim around the same time I learned to walk. I used to spend most of my times on boats, and when the fish didn't reach the surface, I would dive down to get them. That's how life is for most of the main town. The villages are settled around a lake or river where they can produce, at least, a small amount of our production. But not everyone is a fisher there. There are several people that work as ship captains for Capitol cruises that come to District 4 on vacation. Aside for the arenas of previous Games, my district is one of the most popular places to vacation at. And there even those who work in an industry completely unrelated to fishing." I inform Atticus. He seems to be so intrigued by what I say. I could go on forever, but I decide to learn a bit about his district. "What about District 2?" I ask.

"District 2 and District 4 are the same in several aspects. We too have a main town, where I live, surrounded by villages, which are settled around a mine. Originally, my district specialized only in mining and stone cutting. But we grew into bigger and better things. Most of the kids there strive to become tributes or Peacekeepers or even get an education to one day work at mountain at the center of the district. It doesn't have an official name, but that's where most of the Capitol's weapons are harbored. As for me, I planned on volunteering one day. If I never got the opportunity, I would have mostly likely gone on to become a Peacekeeper for the Capitol. But before coming here, I used to work as a stonemason. I worked at a factory where stone was brought in from the mines and we would build different things for the Capitol. But after these Games, I guess it'll be over."Atticus tells me. I try to imagine myself using the machinery they use to cut stone and shape it into useful things, but always find myself being grateful I come from the fishing district.

For the next couple hours, Atticus and I discuss life back in our districts. We talk about food, friends, family, and past loves. It's pretty much the same conversations I had with Alice back in The Capitol. According to Atticus, the place where the District 2 Careers train is called the Combat Facility.

When the first strips of sunlight emerge, Atticus wakes everyone up. We take to the highway and continue north. We walk for hours and decide to have our last meal.

"Are you sure we should finish the food?" asks Britannia.

"Why shouldn't we? In a couple hours, we'll reach the crates and have plenty to eat." answers Atticus.

We quickly eat the remainder of our food. We spend the rest of the day walking back. At around six in the afternoon, we enter the downtown area. For the next mile, Britannia and I kick a small rock back and forth. It's our way of keeping ourselves occupied and entertained. I look up and begin to recognize the buildings we've seen in the past few days. Britannia and I resume our game.

Five days into the Hunger Games and half of us still remain. How long are these Games going to last? In past years, the Games usually last from two to three weeks. The year the arena was a prehistoric jungle, twenty days were spent fighting. What will happen when the food runs out? When it's only us Careers left? The thought of facing my current allies is almost unbearable. Not because I think I won't stand a chance, but because they are the closest things I've had to friends since my arrival at The Capitol.

The stone. Britannia has stopped passing it back and forth. What's gone wrong? I look up and see her eyes. The same eyes that appeared when she killed the District 3 boy. I follow her gaze and see them. The boys from 7 and 8. We all have our eyes on them and they have noticed us. They were in the middle of ransacking through our crates but we have interrupted. We immediately charge forward. They fill their packs with a few last things and boy from 7 then sets all of our supplies of fire. Now I'm furious.

I throw a few knives and, even though there is a space of about forty yards between us, I manage to get the boy from 8 on the leg. They immediately head into the avenues and I chase after them. Atticus angrily turns to Britannia and I. "Go stop the fire!" he yells. I know his temper isn't directed towards us, but I can't help but to feel offended. Without question, Britannia and I run back to the fire while Alice, Atticus, Jasper and Topaz chase after the boys from 7 and 8. The fire has devoured our crates, which were stacked up together. They had already planned to burn our supplies, us showing up just sped up the process.

The flames reach up twenty feet into the sky. A thousand thoughts run through my mind but none of them are given my attention. I see Britannia's lips moving but my mind can't focus on what she's saying. She slaps me and my mind is back. The fire! We need to stop the fire! But how? A fire like this is almost unstoppable. At this point, not only are the crates engulfed in flames, but also the cluster of trees that surround it.

"What can we do?!" Britannia yells over at me. I take a look at our crates in the fire. By now, anything valuable would have been lost.

"Nothing but wait for the flames to extinguish themselves!" I yell back, feeling useless.

Within half an hour the fire disappears. Britannia and I search in the ashes of what used to be our supplies and come out empty handed. Nothing survived the fire.

What will the rest of the Careers say? This might be a good time to leave them. It might be my only chance. If I leave, I can go and hunt and gather in the woods. My dad taught me how to back when I used to train with him. If I leave them now, they can starve to death. That way, I won't have the burden of having to take out my team. I decide against it. It's still too early in the game to be venturing on my own.

Atticus, Topaz, Alice and Jasper eventually return back to what used to be the small tree cluster.

"Was there anything left to salvage?" Alice asks.

"Unfortunately not." Britannia breaks the bad news. I can see worry begin to rise in their faces. To them, the only way to get food and water now is from sponsors. I can count on help from Finnick but I can also rely on the woods. I'm sure there is plenty to keep me going in there. It's moments like this that I'm glad I trained with my dad.

"What are we going to do now?" whimpers Topaz.

"I don't know. But when I find them, I'm going to make them suffer. I want them to die as brutally as possible." Atticus says. I can tell something has changed. It's as if he isn't the same person I talked to this morning anymore. His bloodlust has finally taken over him.

"So, now what?" asks Jasper.

"Now we just wait to die of hunger. Unless we manage to get some food some other way." replies Atticus. "You hear me, Brutus? We could really use some food right about now!" he shouts at the sky. I'm guessing Brutus is his mentor. I don't know much about him except that he won his Games over a generation ago.

"Actually guys, we can hunt in the woods. And I might know what plants are edible in there." I finally say. They all look at me in confusion.

"Okay then. Let's head to the woods." Atticus says.

The sun begins to fall under the horizon. We walk about half a mile north and turn east at a bridge built over the wide river. New territory is all we see. We walk for hours and around nine, we reach midtown again. At one point, it occurs to me that plumbing does work in the arena, so I run into a nearby building and try to gather water. But when I turn the faucet on the liquid that it emits burns a whole through the sink. "They're watching us." says Topaz, and we continue on our way with no water to claim.

During our walk, I begin to think of the boys from 7 and 8. How did they find each other? Why did they decide to form an alliance? How many others are working together? I remember they both got fairly high scores. They both got sevens. Suddenly, their names pop back into my head. The boy from 7 is Alto and the one from 8 is Baron. I cringe at their names. I hate them too for destroying our utilities. But it's a hate built on stupidity.

The anthem awakes me from my daydreams. No faces are in the sky tonight. But small shadows begin to descend towards us. Out of instinct, a spear appears in my hand. I prepare for the crow mutts arrival but instead I find something different. Three medium-sized, metal boxes and six small, metal containers fly down attached to parachutes. Gifts from sponsors! I don't need to tell the others. They might have seen the boxes before I did. When the boxes and containers hit the floor, we cheerfully dart to them. I open a box and find smoked turkey and the nice Capitol bread inside. The small container that landed next to it holds a small bottle filled with clean water to drink.

I turn to see the others opening the remaining packages. One contains a picnic basket full of fresh fruit and the other contains plates, silverware, and napkins along with 6 cupcakes as desert. All the small containers have tiny water bottles in them. I wonder how expensive it must have been to send this. I've seen sponsors send food into the arena before but never a full feast like this. A lot of people must be betting on us and, even though I am completely insulted by the fact that my life is being gambled with, it might be one of the few things to keep me alive.

We move into a building and begin to eat. The food is magnificent! The smoked turkey is amazing! The mentors from 1, 2, and 4 must have pulled many sponsors for this. I take my time eating my cupcake.

Within the hour we are back on the road. At around three in the morning, we enter the suburbs. This part of the city is very open. The buildings are small and are the kind you might see in everyday life. On the outer part of the suburbs are houses. We decide to take some time to look through some of them. They look as if people once lived here. Broken mirrors. Unmade beds. Opened doors. It sends a chill down my spine.

We reach the forest when the first sun beams appear. The pine trees don't begin to grow gradually. Instead they form a wall. One moment you're out in the open, the next you're in the forest. I confirm my earlier observations. The pine trees are so densely packed, not at the trunk but at the crown, that very little light goes in. Atticus begins getting frustrated and decides we should all get some rest. We walk several feet into the forest and fall asleep.

I awaken several hours later in the dark. I look to my side and see bright sunlight coming in from the opening that leads out into the city. For a moment, I forget where I am and panic. Then the memory comes back to me. I'm in the pine forest. Maybe it was a bad idea to head east. We should have kept going south, or even west. Game would have been easier to find there, where there is light.

I rise and walk around in the dark, taking in the sounds of nature with my ears since my eyes are practically useless here. I manage to find a patch of berries growing at the base of a pine. I examine the berries in the limited light and see they are as black as the night. I take a small whiff, safe enough to smell and not get hurt from the fumes. I know these berries. Nightlock. Eating these would cause immediate death. I pack a few dozen of them in a small compartment of my backpack, in case the opportunity to use them ever presents itself, and continue searching.

I hear a low hoot to my left. I move in the direction of the sound. My feet continue until I hear the hoots about fifteen feet above me. I throw my knife in its direction. I shocked sounds comes from the animal and it falls into my arms. I walk back towards the light and emerge onto the sunlight. I look down at my prey. An owl!


	14. Chapter 14

Finally! A normal animal in this arena. Over the next few hours, I skin and wash the animal at a nearby pond. When the bird is done, I set up a fire the way the trainer in The Capitol taught me. I am really getting good at these. I cut the owl into different parts and cook them separately. I will keep this meal to myself. We still have leftovers from last night so the others can eat that. I wrap the cooked bird in the napkins and stuff it in my backpack. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I bathe in the pond. I try to remove my close sensually, knowing that the citizens of The Capitol are suckers for me and hoping this might make some of them want to sponsor me.

I wash body for a few minutes but I get out and put my clothes on when I hear the others' shouts for me. I shout back and eventually find them, not that I didn't know where they were.

"Where were you, Daniel?" asks Alice.

"Oh, I was just washing up at a pond I found." I answer.

"Do you think you can hunt here?" Atticus says pointing towards the dark, packed forest.

"No." I lie. "It's too dark. Maybe we should continue walking along the edge of the forest until we reach the one down south. That one looked promising." I say. Atticus' face develops an aggravated look. "The leftovers from last night should hold us off until we get there." I assure him.

We walk half a mile back into the suburbs and head south-west from here. The trip, much like one before it, is pretty silent. Not because we have nothing to talk about, but because silence can make us deadly. The only reason Alto and Baron escaped with their lives is because the whole fire incident took us by surprise.

At around three in the afternoon, we stop and decide to eat the last bits of our leftovers. We discuss how we plan to spend the rest of the game. Even though we all know that all of us must die for one person to win, nobody mentions it. Our conversations go on for about an hour until Jasper starts shushing us. "Shhh! Do you guys hear that?!" Jasper whispers loudly.

We all fall silent. At first, I hear nothing. Then the distant voices arise. We run towards the voices and arrive at a building that looks like a school. The group enters the cafeteria and from the large windows, we see the boy from 5 and the girl from 3. They are the youngest tributes remaining. I think I remember hearing the boy is thirteen and the girl is twelve. How have they survived this long? I stand at the window, watching them with pity, when I hear the metal hitting the floor. Atticus pulls out a sword.

"I wasn't able to take out 7 and 8, but these guys will do." Atticus spits in such a barbaric manner. Does he really plan to brutally murder these kids? They haven't done a single thing to us. And just sitting, they look like the most innocent things in the world.

Britannia and Topaz hype Atticus up for the kill. Just as he's about to run out, I interrupt.

"Wait!" I scream. "Wait. I'll take care of them." I don't want to be the one responsible for the deaths of these kids, but if I let Atticus have his way with them, he will tear them to shreds. I decide to take matters into my own hands. "I'll kill them." I finally say.

"What do you mean you'll kill them? I haven't had a single kill since day one! I'm going for it." Atticus snarls. The lust for blood overtakes any kindness he has ever had in his eyes. We begin arguing over who should take the kill. Over the course of the debate, Atticus gets so enraged that his sword begins being aimed at me. Alice is immediately up, shoving him out of the cafeteria, towards the hallway. Britannia and Jasper help and I can hear them attempting to calm him down. I take this as my one and only opportunity.

I scramble and unscramble different ideas in my mind. If these kids have to die, it should be in the least horrible way. But, is there a way to do it quickly? The nightlock! I grab a handful of nightlock berries and the small metal container that I got last night and head for the roof. If they consume the nightlock, the poison in the berries will kill them in seconds. They won't feel a thing. I don't want to kill them, but I have to if I'm the one to go home. And besides, if Atticus kills them, bones with break and meat will tear, all before their actual death come.

The boy from 5 and the girl from 3 sit on the edge of the sidewalk outside of the school with their backs to me. If I wanted to, I could easily kill them for here with my spears. They sit and talk.

"Fidel, I'm so hungry." says the girl from District 3.

"I am too, Pastel. But what are we going to eat?" Fidel says.

"We haven't eaten for days and if we don't get some food soon we're going to starve!" yells Pastel.

Fidel and Pastel look much thinner than they did during our time in The Capitol. Their arena clothes are ripped and dirty. I can see they have been suffering. Pastel's red hair seems to be falling out. It's so hard to see such young children going through such horrid things.

I feel a lump develop in my throat as I begin to place the nightlock in the small metal container. Tears start to cloud my vision as I finish closing the container and place the parachute on it, but I fight them back with all my might, knowing that sponsors will see them as a weakness. I let the container fly and the parachute slows its descend. It imitates the fall it had last night perfectly. The container lands across the street in front of them. Pastel and Fidel's faces immediately light up. "Pastel, a sponsor gift!" yells Fidel with extreme joy. They run to the container and spot the berries. Without examining them, Pastel and Fidel pop the berries in their mouth. A few seconds later they fall to the ground dead. Two cannon are heard in the distance.

I stand there, almost emotionless. My hands immediately try to wipe away the dampness that has formed in my eyes. I just killed two innocent kids. But then again, aren't we all just innocent kids? This is the Capitol's ways. They force us into these barbarous and inhuman environments and then leave us to fend for ourselves while the world watches. I wish there was some way to make them pay. To make them feel all the pain the people they suppress go through. But there never will.

I quickly compose myself. My nerves ready themselves to face the worst. As soon as he sees me, Atticus may as well try to rip my throat out. I walk back to the cafeteria and hear the hovercraft pulling up the bodies. In the cafeteria, I find Atticus sitting, surrounded by everyone else. It's as if they are guarding a wild animal so that it doesn't hurt anyone. Atticus looks up at me with hatred in his eyes. "So you killed them?" he asks.

"Yes." I reply.

"Good. I'm two steps closer to winning." Atticus says. I know that by this he means he's a step closer to killing me. There is silence for a moment.

"Let's get back to hunting for food." says Alice, trying to divert Atticus out of his angered state. Atticus gets up and leaves without a further word. Jasper, Britannia and Topaz follow. Alice and I hesitate and then do the same.

For the next several hours, we walk south, hoping to run into the forest that was made up of various trees. Before I know it, night swallows the sky. All the chirping heard during the day transformers into hooting. We manage to get to the forest around ten. The trees are diverse and there is plenty of space here. By now, we are starving! I don't know how other tributes go days without food. Luckily, as soon as we enter the forest we are greeted by deer. I let the others hunt while I go off to find edible plants. I find a strawberry bush about half a mile from where we entered the forest. I put away most of the strawberries into my backpack and eat the remainder of the bush to make sure no one else will come across them.

"You enjoying those strawberries?" The voice makes me jolt up and fall backwards. Alice stands against a tree, smiling. I get up and wipe the dirt off of my black uniform. I give a quick, silent laugh.

"I didn't think anyone would see me eating them. You want some?" I offer Alice some strawberries.

"Sure! Why not?" she says. We sit for a few minutes while the others are around trying to hunt for food. Alice and I eat the strawberries and I decide to pull out my cooked bird. "Wow! When did you get that?" Alice asks with curiosity in her eyes.

"This morning before anyone woke up. I cooked it and everything. I bet Atticus and the others don't know how to do that." I say. We sit and eat for a while until we hear Topaz's voice calling for us. We wrap the remains if the bird back in the napkins and put it in my backpack. We run back towards Topaz's voice and find the group.

"Did you guys find anything?" asks Jasper.

"Yeah. I found some strawberries that we can eat." I say.

"Good. I took out a deer." Atticus says while waving us toward the carcass on the ground. Its head is missing.

"Do you want me to get it ready?" I ask.

"I don't know. Do you think you can keep from messing _this_ up?" Atticus asks rudely. He's still mad about not being able to kill Pastel and Fidel.

I give him a spurious smile and respond, "Of course." Britannia lifts the deer and brings it over to Atticus. Atticus then chucks the deer at me.

What's left of today is devoted to finding food and water. Britannia and Atticus hunt, Alice and Topaz look for any source of fresh water, and Jasper and I get the deer ready for dinner. I skin the animal while Jasper tries to set up a fire. After hours of work, he finally gets the fire going. I cook the meat as Jasper seems to take mental notes.

"So, you've done this before, haven't you?" Jasper asks as if he has figured something out. I look up to see his captivating smile.

"Sort of. I've been learning, but I've never had to do it out of necessity. It's just one of my many skills." I flash the winning smile that won over The Capitol people. "Do you learn this kind of stuff in District 1?" I ask.

"We used to. But people only cared about weaponry, so eventually they got rid of teachings such as this." Jasper says, pointing at the now cooked animal. "I guess The Training Institute, which is our fight academy, figured that the tributes could get by with sponsors. Is like that in 4?"

"In a way. We still have the survival skills classes, but they are quite basic and not too many kids invest their time in them. Most of The Academy focuses on killing." I say.

A couple hours later the pack regroups and feeds on part of the deer. The rest will be saved for later. We begin tracking back towards downtown but don't get far when the anthem comes on. Pastel's face is the first to cover the sky, soon followed by Fidel. Once again, I have to fight back tears. But I wonder how did they met and why they decided to be allies? Did the same thing that brought Baron and Alto together happen to them?

I go over the remaining tributes in my head. There are ten of us left. Alice, Topaz, Britannia, Atticus, Jasper and I are six. Then there's Baron and Alto. And lastly, there's the boy from 10 and the girl from 12. Pretty soon, it'll be just my pack remaining. The time that calls for the blood of the Careers is approaching quickly. The real Games are about to begin.

After three hours of walking in a north-west direction, we find a large, two-story house and take refuge in it. The house seems like a more upscale version of any house if seen in District 4. Except for the mayor's house, of course. This house has two working bathrooms and three large, green couches sit in the living room.

We take the torn mattresses from the beds and drag them downstairs, next to the sofas. "I'll stay on watch." Britannia volunteers. And with that, I drift to sleep. I don't have many dreams tonight. The only one that makes an impression on me is one where Fidel and Pastel sing and play together in a field of rye. They seem happy and innocent. Even though the happy scene should lift my spirits, it only seems to break me further.

I wake up around two in the afternoon to find Jasper and Alice on watch. Britannia, Atticus and Topaz are still sleeping. I rise from the couch and walk into the kitchen where Alice and Jasper make small talk. "Daniel! Up already?" asks Jasper.

"The clock in the living room says it's two. I'm surprised I'm not the last one awake." I say.

"Well, nothing has happened yet so we figured we'd let everyone catch up on their sleep." Alice replies.

"We should get breakfast ready." Jasper quickly changes the subject.

I secretly eat the rest of my owl and some of the strawberries upstairs. When I come back down stairs, Jasper washes the table with a wet cloth while Alice awakens Atticus, Britannia and Topaz. I set what remains of the deer and strawberries on the table along with the gallon of water that Alice and Topaz found yesterday. As soon as Britannia is up, she heads for the mirror in the bathroom and, with berries she found yesterday in the forest, paints her face the way people in The Capitol do. Now I know she really is a big fan of The Capitol, just as I had suspected before because of her dimple piercings. I don't know what kind of berries she may be using, but hopefully they are poisonous and kill her before I have to.

We finish eating when the clock tells us the time is four-thirty. Before we leave, each one of us takes a shower since the last time we bathe was several days ago.

We walk a mile parallel to the pine forest border for about three hours. The majority of the trip is filled with the sounds of nature. We stop when we reach the large parking lot of something called a cinema. We don't have any in the districts, but I've heard they are very popular in The Capitol. "We should take a break." I suggest.

"Bad idea. We're out in the open." shoots Britannia.

"What if we are attacked?" adds Topaz.

"I don't think anyone is stupid enough to attack a Career pack of six." I say.

They agree and we sit down for a while. There is no food left but we drink what's left of our water. Food can be easily accessed in the woods. Water might be a bit more difficult to find but I'm sure sponsors would help us.

The sun sits on the horizon and I feel just as I do when I'm at home. I used to sit on the beach with my father after training. I reminisce about the better days when I didn't have to worry about being reaped for the Hunger Games. The days when volunteers were allowed. I also think of when I'd take different people down to a private part of the beach to spend special time with me during the hot summer nights. I might have been shy, but it doesn't mean people didn't claim me. Now it all seems like a far-fetched dream that will never happen again.

A loud cacophony drags me out of my memories. The sound seems to be a collection of many others. Glass breaking. Things crashing. Explosions. I look into the distance and see that not too far north, maybe half a mile, several buildings collapse. Gamemakers. Before I can say it out loud , Atticus darts. "There are tributes over there!" He screams as he runs and, without further questioning, everyone follows after. The parking lot takes a good minute to cross. I end up in a small neighborhood that seems to be made up of apartment buildings. In the far distance, smoke and debris race along the streets. I stare into the grey cloud and see them running. Running for their lives. Out of the haze emerge two tributes. Alto and Baron!


	15. Chapter 15

Memories of the fire engulf my mind the same way the debris cloud does the streets. I see our supplies, our chances of survival, get swallowed by the flames. Nothing to salvage from the wreckage. No hope to hold on to.

I immediately race towards them. The others must have spotted Alto and Baron too because I hear the clatter of footsteps a few yards behind me. We are about forty yards from Alto and Baron when a knife from behind me flies in their direction. It misses by a long shot but the sight of a blade in flight lets them know we are here. They take a right and begin running eastward.

Jasper, the fastest out of all of us, begins to gain ground on them, but Alto and Baron keep throwing broken glass at us, run into buildings, and taking turns at almost every corner. It is actually difficult to keep up with them. The sun is nearly hidden now and little light allows us to keep on pursuit. Alto and Baron run into a small house and disappeared.

"That's it. They got away." Britannia gives up, her voice tired and hyperventilating. We enter the house, defeated once again. Alto and Baron have escaped from us for the second time. Besides my fellow Careers, 7 and 8 have proven to be my biggest competition. I'm just about to walk out of the house when I see Atticus' head turn towards the sounds of stirring. They're still here! Somewhere...hiding.

"Search the entire area! Don't let them get away!" Atticus yells.

I search most of the rooms and find nothing. Britannia and Alice search upstairs while everyone else searches the first floor or the basement. Nothing! I've just about given up all hope when the stirring sound is heard again. Topaz knocks over a giant bookshelf and out rushes Alto and Baron. Britannia's knife swifts past them, missing Baron's head by a few inches. They run out of the house and we resume the chase.

For thirty minutes, a race of glass and knife throwing occurs. I manage to dodge every sharp object hurled my way but Atticus isn't as fleet of foot. A small dagger thrown by Alto finds its way into Atticus thigh. Alto and Baron are not excluded from the injuring. Jasper's throwing knife penetrates Alto in the lower leg.

The pursuit takes place in the near dark now. Few rays of sunlight escape from the horizon. We've been headed east for almost an hour now. Most of the chase consists of running, hiding, fighting and a repeat of the three. The tree line of the dark pine forest begins to appear. Without hesitating, Baron and Alto run straight into the woods. I'm guessing they've been here before.

We stop at the border of the forest for a few seconds and then rush in after them. I run in first, followed by Topaz. I can see the path that has been made by their bodies and follow it. Branches hit my face and a sweet smell of honey fills my nostrils. Every couple of steps, one of us Careers trip on obstacles in the ground. Alto and Baron are a couple yards ahead of me but in this darkness, they may as well be miles away. I follow only the sound of their yelling and heavy feet. As I'm running, it crosses my mind that Alto and Baron have not tripped over a single rock or ran straight into a tree. They have absolutely been here before. They know this ground and are using it to escape. Actually, I think they led us here. They must have some here planned for us. I hear a buzzing in the near distance. The buzzing seems calm and collected for a few seconds, then Alto and Baron's screams soar through the trees. By now, the buzzing is loud and out of control. And that's when I feel the excruciating pain.

The sting in my left wrist almost makes me collapse. Pain, all throughout my body. What has happened? I'm so confused and I'm beginning to feel wobbly. I receive another painful jab on chest. The buzzing. The stings. I know what this is. Tracker jackers! I immediately stop and turn. Topaz almost collides with me. "Turn around! Tracker jackers!" I scream. At that moment, I hear Topaz shriek. She must have just gotten stung. Atticus yells to the others to retreat and we all run as soon as possible out of this tracker jacker infested forest. The whole scene is complete chaos. I should have known that the Gamemakers would have put mutts like these in the arena.

As we run, I hear Topaz shriek again. A second sting to her. We continue running until we see the light of the moon illuminating the buildings outside the forest. Before I can escape, one get one last agonizing sting in my upper back.

I look up and see two large lumps have formed on Topaz's arm. I inspect my own and immediately remove every stinger from my body. We run as far as we can but I'm getting beyond dizzy. I collapse on the floor and see my allies disappear. I turn my head towards the forest and see tall, shadowy figures looming out of the trees and making their way to me. They must be at least ten feet tall. Out of fear, I try to get up as soon as possible but I stumble again and again. I turn to the buildings and see the dead tributes jumping for rooftop to rooftop. They seem different though. Almost two dimensional. It's as if the tributes had been drawn on paper and cut out. Fidel and Pastel spot me. Lennox and Finbar jump from the roof and onto the floor. All the tributes' faces are emotionless and their eyes are locked on me. Then the fire starts to engulf my legs. It rises upward until it devours all of me. So much pain runs through me and a horrific scene occurs around me. The shadow men then block my sight. I feel a dragging sensation and everything goes dark.

I enter a nightmare where I see myself strapped upside down by my feet as a saw enters my body. Pain like never before is all that runs in my veins. I see my family executed hundreds of different ways. President Snow poisons a naked Finnick and I find myself running in the misty dark. A giant crow impales me with its claws and tears me apart.

I open my eyes little by little to see streaks of sunlight glimmering in the air. The venom from the tracker jacker stings must have worked its way out of my system and I must finally be free of my nightmares. For a few minutes, I lay on the ground with my eyes closed. I hear the sounds of nature all around me. I finally decide to get up and find a startled Alice. "Daniel! You're awake! Thank goodness!" she cries as she throws herself at me with a tight hug. I'm so confused as to what happened. I search around for the rest of the Career pack but find no others.

"Where are the others?" I ask in a weakened voice. By body and mind ache.

"They left. We're on our own." says Alice. This is it. The moment the Career pack disbands.

"What? Why?" I ask. I'm so troubled that they would leave us behind.

"After you and Topaz were stung, both of you fell into some sort of sleep. You would scream and I'd try to wake up but you'd never come to. Yesterday, Topaz finally woke up. We didn't have any food so they decided we should have left you to die. I wouldn't leave so Atticus and the others left while I was sleeping. They never came back. We were left here to die." Alice tells me. Treachery. I should have seen this coming. Sooner or later, it was bound to happen.

"I hope they die." I say after a shocked silence. I really hope they die. I dislike 1 and 2 enough to not miss after death finds them.

"Where are my things?" I ask. I look around worriedly. Alice walks over to a bush a couple of yards away. It isn't until now that I notice my surroundings. I lay in the middle of a sunlit alley. The buildings we rest between are maybe ten stories high. The sides of the buildings are lined with flowered bushes that are thick enough to conceal a tribute. Alice retrieves two backpacks and carefully places mine in my lap. A stiff pain arises. I didn't notice how sore and body is.

"How long was I out?" I ask.

"You were stung two days ago, slept all day yesterday and woke up today. It's about three in the afternoon right now." Alice answers me. "Whatever little food we had were taken by them." she adds. I search my pack and find no food whatsoever. Our water has been long gone. Right now, we are in the worst shape we have been since we landed in the arena.

"Alice, we need to hunt and find fresh water." I say.

"Do you think you can make it to the forest? It's not too far from here. After you lost consciousness, the group dragged you and Topaz towards the southern forest. We only managed to get halfway. After you and I were left behind, I managed to get us closer to the woods. We're only a couple minutes away." Alice informs me.

I have trouble getting to my feet. My entire body screams a song of pain. The stings on my body are large and throbbing. The walk to the forest is more challenging than I had expected. Instead of a couple minutes, an entire hour is wasted trying to get there. We walk for a bit and rest every so often, finally reaching the trees around four. We stop and rest for a couple of minutes.

"So, what has happened in my time off, Alice?" I ask. She knows what I mean.

"No one has died. There are still ten of us left. No deaths have occurred in about three days so I think it's safe to bet that the Gamemakers will cause some sort of catastrophe soon." Alice answers. No deaths since Fidel and Pastel? There is no doubt in my mind that a cataclysm is on the verge of eruption. By now, the audience will have gotten bored. They will be craving more blood. But how could they crave my blood when they were so in love with me just over a week ago?

As we talk, a small parachute descends upon us. Alice runs to the small container under the parachute and pulls out a device that resembles a water bottle. The only difference is that this object is not hollow, but instead, filled with machinery. A water purifier. I recognize it at once and, by the look in her face, Alice seems to recognize it too. Back in District 4 plenty of people took these to the beach to remove any harmful substance from the water to make it drinkable. Though we are one of the more favorable districts, there are times when the Capitol cuts our water.

The water purifier comes along with four small loafs of bread tinted green. This bread comes from District 4! This whole gift must be from District 4. How expensive must it have been for our district to send this into the arena? Especially this far in the game. If Alice is right about my horrid slumber, we have been in the arena for nine days.

"Should we ration the bread?" Alice asks.

"No. Let's just eat it all. We will have more food soon." I say.

We each eat two loafs of the salty bread and head into the woods. Alice tucks the water purifier away in her backpack. We walk into a forest and right away we find game. Alice easily takes down the small deer with the miniature trident she obtained at the Cornucopia. I do my best to hunt but my body is failing me and the pain will not let me accomplish much. The cuts from the crows, the lumps from the tracker jacker stings and many bruises cloak my body. Instead I focus on gathering. I stumble a small grouping of cacti in a dry, open field in the middle of the forests. Kneeling over is too painful so instead I lay on the floor as I cut cactus after cactus, making sure to steer away from the thorns.

I begin thinking about my situation. I'm supposed to be battling to the death with other kids, but I feel like I'm battling starvation and dehydration instead. We have food under control but I have not seen a single drop of water in days. If Alice and I don't find water today, we will be dead by tomorrow morning! Water needs to be found. Now.

Ouch! Pain is injected into my left hand. My arm reflexively jerks backwards and sends the spiked cactus into the air. I grabbed the cactus with my bare hand while I was distracted with my thoughts. My palm sheds tears of blood that race to the tips of my fingers before plunging towards the ground. I pull my backpack over my shoulder and search far past the spear heads and knives and retrieve a half empty package of bandages and disinfecting alcohol. I remove my shirt and let the sun and cameras around me take a good look at my body. Now, I'm expecting something from sponsors tonight! The shirt soaks up the blood from my wound long enough to be disinfected. The bandages wrap around my entire left hand, just above the lump on my wrist brought on by the tracker jacker sting.

I gather the seven cacti I managed to cut before I dazed off and begin cutting off the top layer that contains the thorns. I'm more careful to pay each cactus the attention it needs. Don't want a repeat on my right hand. Besides. I'm starting to run low of bandages.

I place the smooth cacti into my backpack, put my shirt back on, and leave the opening to search for Alice. I find her about a hundred yards south. She had been searching for me too. Her eyes and voice display a cheerful tone.

"Daniel! You'll never believe what I found!" Alice yells quietly.

"What?" I ask.

Alice's eyes find my bloody, bandaged hand before she can respond. "What happened?!" Alice says in a troubled voice. Her hand immediately pulls out the tiny trident.

"No! There's no need to worry! I just dozed off and got a hand full of cactus. That's all." I choke out before she begins slashing the air.

It takes a few moments for Alice to realize we are in no danger. She places her small trident back in her belt and the fear and anger leave her face. "Okay." she says. Alice scans the surrounding woods for a few moments and then continues as if she had never stopped. "You'll never guess what I found!" she says with a delighted smile.

"What'd you find, Alice?" I say almost in a bored tone. Luckily, Alice doesn't seem to pick it up.

Alice's face lights up. She can barely hold it her excitement. "I found a creek! It's not too far from here!" A stream? Water! Water is nearby! And even if the water is unsafe, our purifier can make it drinkable.

Alice waves me forward and begins speed walking. I try to keep up with Alice but my body aches too much. Alice returns and helps me make my way to the creek. In a few minutes, we arrive at a body of water that's about ten feet wide and two feet deep. Alice escorts me over to the water and puts half my body in the creek. We sit and bathe in the creek surrounded by moss for about an hour. We skin and clean the deer Alice butchered earlier and pack it in her backpack. Both of our water bottles are filled with clean water. I try to fight it, but my mind is consumed with thoughts of Atticus, Jasper, Britannia and Topaz. How are they doing? What have they gone though? How is Topaz dealing with the after effects of the tracker jacker venom? What horrors did she experience? Have they found water like we did?

_Boom!_

I'm thrown out of my thoughts by an extremely loud sound that echoes through the arena. An explosion.


	16. Chapter 16

The sound is so loud, it scatters the birds into the skies. I can almost feel the ground shaking. Could this be the big catastrophe? Alice and I run through the trees and back into the city. We hike for the remainder of the daylight hours as fast as we can to find out what the clamorous noise we heard earlier.

"We need to get higher to see the arena." Alice informs me. We run and take small breaks. Even though my body aches like never before, I persevere through the strain. We reach midtown around ten. Alice takes me into an office building. She takes me up to the roof, about thirty stories into the air. She puts me down and sets up a small fire with a lighter she stole from Atticus before their departure.

"What do you think it was?" I ask.

"Don't know. But it must have been a dreadful experience to have witness. Do you think it took anyone out?" Alice replies.

I don't recall ever hearing a single cannon after the ear-piercing boom. "I'm not sure I heard a cannon. Maybe one sounded during the blast." I answer.

I begin to pull out the cactus and cook them in the fire. Alice pulls out the piles of deer meat from her pack and does the same. I'm a bit afraid that, by now, the meat might have spoiled, but we don't have many other options. Ten minutes manages to get the meat and cactus well cooked.

"We need to portion this out. I suggest we share a leg and save everything else for later. I think it's okay to eat all the cacti." I state.

"We also need to portion out the water." Alice adds.

Alice cuts the meat of the leg and hands me what she judges to be half. I'm careful to only take few gulps of water. As we sit around and chat, a small noise to my left brings me to my sore feet. I assume a defensive pose. The knife in my hand substitutes for the spears I lost during the tracker jacker incident. I'm prepared to kill when I see what produced the sound. A small metal container lies on the floor. Another sponsor gift! Alice retrieves the container and opens it to find a light green cream harbored inside. "What is _this_?" asks Alice.

"Let me take a look." I say and she hands it over to me. I stare at the cream but find it to be unfamiliar. I take a safe sniff and realize it is medicine. But what for? It can only be for one thing. I dip my sweaty finger into the green substance and smear it across my three stings. The pain in the lumps is immediately subsided. Relief flows through me like the current did in the creek. This isn't any medicine I've known. It must be something that the scientists of the Capitol wiped up in their labs.

"It's for you." Alice says, a bit disappointed. Her voice bounces back right away. "Do you feel any better?"

I turn and smile at her. "_Much_ better!" I cheer.

Alice puts out the fire and we set our sleeping bags. We lie down and stare at the stars. I wonder if they are real. If the stars I've seen for the last week are actual stars or just a projection by Seneca Crane for his arena.

The Capitol seal blocks my view and the anthem fills my ears. Time to see who died. I am shocked when no faces appear in the sky. The anthem ends and the city plummets back into darkness. So the loud explosion killed no one. What on earth could it have been?

I notice the conversation has stopped and look over to find a sleeping Alice. Her blond hair tangles in her face so I comb it back. I am now left alone in the dark. Fear makes its way into me. I can't help but to remind myself of the terrifying things I saw after I got stung. Tall shadow figures. Paper tributes. They seemed so real, so vivid. But I know they must have been hallucinations. There's no way those could have been creations of the Capitol. I shut my eyes and try to keep the images out. Slowly, I fall to fatigue.

The paper tributes jump from tree to tree as I run as fast as possible away from them. No matter how fast I go, they only seem to get closer and closer. The shadow men appear in front of me and I am knocked down to the floor. As they get closer, my body fails me and lets out a scream.

Alice shoves me awake, which startles me. Her face has been splashed with worry. "What's wrong?!" Alice asks hysterically. I look around and realize it was only a nightmare. The sun is on the edge of the horizon, peeking out to see the arena. Must be around six in the morning judging by the sunrise. "Are you okay?" Alice asks again.

"Yeah. I just had a bad dream, that's all." I assure her.

A few moments is what it takes for both of us to calm ourselves. We then lay out a breakfast and make sure to only eat small bits of the deer to ensure this meat lasts us until tomorrow. Right now, we need to find out what caused that explosion.

Alice and I make our way down to the street and continue north. I walk much more easily today. The medicine has not fully relieved me of the pain, but it has made it a hundred times more bearable. I'll apply some more of the ointment later.

Alice and I exchange from walking, running, and resting for the next six hours. The sun is directly above us when we reach downtown. The buildings here are sure to let us view most of the arena. We walk for one more hour to end up at what seems to be another hotel that I would guess to be half a mile from the Cornucopia. We walk up many flights of stairs, watching the floor numbers increase. We pass the number seventy and are deposited onto the building's roof. Alice is stunned at the view. Several words leave her mouth but I can't hear them much over the wind.

Being this high, I can see exactly where we are. I pull out my Capitol telescope and look around. The Cornucopia is stationed half a mile southeast. A bit more far east stand the towers. Those massive skyscrapers cast shadows on much of the downtown area. The view is magnificent and nothing seems out of place. That's when I take a look north.

Without my telescope I can see a thin line of smoke rising in the far distance. When I look through the glass of the telescope, I see a whole several blocks covered in fire and smoke. The nuclear power plant that once stood is now gone. The air that surrounds the wreckage is tinted a light green and covers about a mile. Radiation. I'll make sure to never head two places. Far east to the pine forest and north to the radiation.

"What can you see, Daniel?" Alice asks with great curiosity.

"The nuclear plant detonated. The area around it is uninhabitable so I suggest we never go north." I answer. "Hopefully someone was around when it happened and was exposed to the radiation."

"Of course, someone was around." says Alice. "The Gamemakers wouldn't have detonated the plant without anyone around to affect."

We set up lunch and eat most of the deer. Our water has begun to run low so we might have to head east to the large river by the highway later. We sit around and eat for about two hours. Afterwards, we begin to descend down to the streets.

"Let's go to the river. We need more water anyways." I say.

The walk to the river consumes almost an hour. Mainly because we take our good time. We take the street that leads down to the Cornucopia and see many familiar sights. I catch a glimpse of the building the boy from 3 tried to scale before receiving an axe to the back from Britannia. The trees that hide the Cornucopia. The hotel lobby where us Careers first had our base.

"Are you sure we should just be walking in the middle of the street in broad daylight?" I ask Alice.

"Why not? If Atticus and his minions show up, we can play up the allies angle, and if we bump into any if the other four tributes, they don't stand a chance against us." Alice states. It seems a bit arrogant but I suppose she's right.

Alice and I reach the highway and the large river next to it. She dips the purifier into the water and empties out the clean liquid into our water bottles. We walk down the highway for thirty minutes and take a right back into city where we find a small park that covers about a block and sit down to eat the rest of our food. The grass is covered with sweet smelling flowers of various colors. Quite a beautiful sight. Possibly the prettiest thing I've seen since the Games started.

"Daniel. This should be our base. The trees here hide us pretty well and it smells nice!" Alice says.

"Alright. If we ever get separated this is where we will meet up." I agree.

Alice pulls out the deer and we consume it. Thirst gets the best of us and we finish our water too. Not a big deal. The river is only a few minutes away. We sit around and waste another hour, enjoying the peace and quiet. I pull out my medicine and cover my stings with it again. The breeze in the air and the coolness of the medicine relax me. I'm just about to fall asleep when Alice then suggests we stock up on water again.

The walk back to the river is filled with the afternoon sun. Once again, we pump water through the purifier and place it into our water bottles. Alice and I hide our belongings in a nearby bush and strip to our underwear. We jump into the water and swim around for a few minutes.

For the first time in a long time, I feel at home. Splashing through the water brings back memories of District 4. And having Alice here with me only adds to the pleasure. We race across the light waves, douse each other, and wash ourselves. I wonder why it never occurred to me to make a boat out of wood and sail up and down the river. It sure would have made it easier to travel.

My moment of happiness is brought to an end by a sour smell. I look out into the distance and see dead fish rising the surface. The line of death quickly approaches us and I immediately grab Alice and swim for the highway. We barely manage to reach land and escape the trail of death occurring in the waters. "What's going on?!" yells Alice.

"The radiation leaked into the river. In pretty sure the two lakes are going to be radioactive. It's a good thing we got out of the water fast." I say.

We quickly jump back into our clothes and get our belongings out of the, now dying, bush. We run back to our spot in the trees and drink some of our water. Now that the main water source in the arena is radioactive, the water supply for most tributes is gone. Alice and I still might have our creek towards the edge of the arena, but I'm sure the purifier is strong enough to remove any toxin the water might contain.

"Do you think anyone was caught in the radiation?" I ask.

"One can only hope." Alice answers. A yawn escapes Alice's mouth and I can see she is tired. Who knows how long she's been awake.

"You can take a nap if you want. I'll stay guard and wake you up in an hour." I say.

"Are you sure?" Alice asks.

"Of course." I say. And Alice is out like a light. I judge the time to be around five thirty by the position of the sun. I sit on my sleeping bag in the grass while the wind runs its fingers through my face. The sweet scent of the flowers hypnotizes me. I am not familiar with these flowers and assume they are the Capitol's creations. I lie down and fall into a state where I'm resting but still conscious of my surroundings.

Thirty minutes are spent in this trance until something strange fully awakens me. At first, it seemed as if there was a vibration that was hardly noticeable. But now, the ground is shaking. Every second the shaking gets more intense. What's going on? Earthquake? Isn't it too soon for the Gamemakers to use one? They used an earthquake in the arena two years ago which led to the end of _those_ Games.

There's no need for me to wake Alice up. The tremors have done the job for me and she's up instantly. "What's happening?!" she yells.

"I don't know. I think it's a -" I don't get to finish. A tree falls right where I stand. I have just enough time to jump out of the way. Alice grabs her backpack and throws mine at me. I pull it on and we run out of the falling trees. Our sleeping bags are left behind.

We run into the highway and dart south. For a few seconds, the tremors seem to be an actual earthquake. Then Alice stops me in my tracks to point out a line of gray about half a mile away. I take out my telescope and see what is causing these vibrations. A stampede of rats! But no, not normal rats. These are the same size of the small cars that are broken down in the streets. Their eyes glow a dark red and their fangs can easily be six inches long. Their grimy gray fur tangles in the wind.

Instinctively, I turn and run north as fast as I can manage. Alice is at my side at once. From the highway, I can look onto the avenues around and see thousands of rat mutts filling the streets. They crawl out of the sewers through the manholes. Was this what killed the girl from ten? What scared Jasper back to the surface?

My will to live takes over and nothing but survival crosses my mind. Sweat runs down my face and the adrenaline has caused me to break the delicate telescope in my hand. I've seen plenty of rats in District 4. They are small and usually quiet or share a silent squeak. These things seem to almost roar.

The pain from the tracker jacker stings rises again. Alice and I keep running and I see an untouched manhole cover. Alice runs right above it and is flung several feet in the air. The manhole cover shatters as a rat flies out of the sewer and onto Alice. Anger fills my eyes and, without hesitation, I send one of the knives that was in my belt a second ago into the mutt's right eye. The rat falls on its back and Alice resumes running. We continue our escape from the stampede for several minutes. Whenever a rat gets too close for comfort, I lunge knives into its face. As we run, I notice Alice leaves behind a small trail of blood. When she was thrown into the concrete by the rat, her left leg was scraped. The pants have been ripped open over the wound and blood leaks down Alice's leg.

I begin to think Alice and I are goners. That this is the end. My belt only has two knives for me to kill with and my backpack only has a handful left. Alice has run out of weapons except for a knife with a serrated blade and her small trident. The rats are moving in all around us and by the sound of the roars, I assume they are loose all across the city. I toss my second to last knife and look out in front of me. The sight leaves me breathless, even more than the running did. In the not-so-far distance I see four small figures appear. They are running for their lives but they head out way. My old allies. Topaz. Britannia. Jasper. Atticus.


	17. Chapter 17

The ground between us rapidly condenses. My eyes meet Atticus' and they know that we're coming. I prepare a knife in my hand in case Atticus and his group pose a threat to Alice and me, as the rats do. I seek out the eyes of a predator in them, but find only the eyes of the prey.

We all end up face to face, being pursued by the rats on both of our ends, and decide to go west together on a street that connects to the highway. My eyes fly from side to side, looking but not paying attention. My survival instinct has completely taken over.

"Into the tower!" Atticus screams, fear in his voice. I follow him into one of the hundred story buildings. Together, I called the pair of skyscrapers the Towers. I remember seeing the Towers on the first day, scaling to the sky to cast long shadows across the city.

I'm the last one to run in. We immediately barricade all the entrances we can find. I don't pay attention to my surroundings. All that goes through my mind is keeping a good distance between the mutts and myself and surviving. I can only imagine what those things did to the girl from 10. How they must have torn her apart in the sewers.

We all sit back and try to catch our breath. Not enough resting time is given to us before the mutts break into the lobby. My legs are on the run before my mind registers what is happening. We all run past a hall of elevators, which I'm sure are working, but thinking it might be yet another death trap, I yell at them to run for the stairs.

Topaz is the first to get to the metal door. It prohibits our escape from the mutt stampede as the knob wears chains and a lock that force us to face our death. But I can't turn and face the rats. I have nothing but a few knives left.

"Move over!" Britannia yells at us. She pulls her axe, the same one used to kill the boy from 3, out of her backpack. We make a path for Britannia to access the door. I keep looking back and forth to make sure the rats haven't reached us. Britannia begins to hack away at the chains with her axe. Small sparks and shards of metal jump out at us.

"Hurry! They're coming!" Alice yells. Terror sweeps her eyes and voice.

The roars of the rats twist my head in their direction. The mutts have found us and are ready to kill. They charge at us and I see my end. One of the rats stares into my eyes, the red piercing my green and bronze. It emits a horrific screech and launches itself at me. I don't even try to defend myself. What's the point? Thousands of mutts surround us and there is no escape. This is where the Careers will be purged from the 72nd Hunger Games.

Just as the rat is about to reach me, I feel a strong tug from behind. Alice has me by the arm and throws me to the other side of the door. Britannia was able to crack it open! She quickly closes it after we all pass through. The rat that was in midst of its attack on me ends up hitting the metal door with enough force to leave a dent in it and send Britannia, who was standing too close to the door, flying over to the stairs. She hits the ground with her face and her lip is slit open. Blood gushes to the ground.

Topaz runs over to her. "Get up, Britannia! We need to keep moving." she yells as she helps Britannia on her feet. Another rat bangs on the door. They are trying to take it down. Topaz is right. We need to keep moving!

"Keep heading up!" I yell. I ignore the lack of air in my lungs and the pain in my body and keep heading up. The rats continue to impact the door. By the time we reach a flight of stairs that indicates we are in the tenth floor, the last sound of the breaking door hits our ears. I look down and see the ocean of huge mutts chasing behind us. Atticus, who is behind everyone, urges us to run. My legs go from fast to flashing. I run in front of the group and keep running for what seems to be an eternity. The floor numbers increase as the we rise further up, rats not too far behind us.

I notice around the fiftieth floor that the mutts have fallen behind. They are still chasing after us, but at a much slower pace. Almost as if they were only driving us towards a different place. By the time we reach the sixty-seventh floor, the rats have stopped completely. They dwell in the stairs many stories below us, keeping guard in case we come down.

Atticus opens the door that leads into the rooms and halls of the buildings. We rest in the hall on the other side of the door. I take a good look at 1 and 2 and see no difference from a few days ago. A few scratches and bruises, some sport dry blood even. Topaz also has her two tracker jacker stings and Britannia tries to stop her lip from bleeding. But then my eyes fall on Jasper. It's as if he is a whole new person. Parts of his head seem to be missing hair. The entire right side if his body seems to be burned, and large white warts have grown on his arms and the tips of his fingers. A deep stab wound resides in his right arm. The handsome young man from District 1 is no more. Instead he has been replaced by _this_ monster. But how did this happen? Could he have been anywhere near the nuclear blast yesterday?

For moments, no words are spoken. We sit in silence as the air begins to flow back into our lungs. How has everyone survived this event? I don't recall hearing any cannons on my trip up. Six Careers in one of the Towers means four other tributes are still out there. They must have taken shelter in the buildings as well. But since the rats stopped, that means the audience is pleased. Or at least, will be pleased soon.

"So, how's it going?" I casually say to Atticus' group. Nobody responds. Alice's face then grows tense with anger.

"Things have been better. You?" Atticus says.

"I think we need to discuss a few things." Alice begins.

"Like what?" spits out Britannia.

"The fact that you guys left us behind!" Alice screams. Atticus seems to begin to get annoyed.

"So! It was bound to happen sometime! And besides. Daniel was taking too long to come back!" Topaz rudely replies. I can help but to feel insulted.

"Shut the hell up, Topaz! You have no right to even be saying anything! You were also knocked out cold by those tracker jackers!" Alice yells at the top of her lungs. Anger soars through her voice. Her hands begin to shake and I can see she wants pounce on Topaz.

Topaz makes her way to Alice and gets in her face. "It doesn't matter! I woke up and he didn't!" she says while pointing at me.

Tensions rise and hostility full the air. I stand on the opposite side of the hall from Britannia, Jasper and Atticus where I am closer to the stairs. We all watch as the argument escalades between Alice and Topaz. Insults and curse words are thrown and I sense a fight might break out at any moment. The arguing reminds me of the fist fights that happen in school sometimes. Only, instead of fists, these girls are armed with bladed weapons.

Then Topaz harshly shoves Alice, and all hell breaks loose. Time seems to slow down and I notice every detail that occurs. As Alice hits the wall, her hand reaches for her small trident tucked in her black belt. Topaz's eyes spot the trident and steps back as soon as possible, but not quick enough. She manages to dodge most of the trident, but the outer prong pierces her throat, tearing away her flesh. Blood splatters on the walls and the floor. My face is sprayed with the warm, sticky substance. Topaz's neck has been ripped open. I can see the deep puncture oozing blood that cascades down the front of her body. She spends the last seconds of her life gripping on to the wound as if she could somehow stop the bleeding. A sound at seems to be a cross between gurgling and choking is produced from her throat. Topaz's eyes roll to the back of her head and she falls to the floor, twitching for a few moments. I hear a cannon and I know she's dead.

We are all left aghast! For a few moments, everyone just stands with their jaw dropped from shock. I can see the others are slowly trying to process what just happened. Alice seems to be going over plans in her mind. Topaz, this beautiful girl that was living life in District 1 no more than two weeks ago, is now dead! The tender lips that I secretly desired to kiss have lost their warmth. And now that Topaz has been eliminated, I'm sure Alice and I are next.

Atticus, Jasper, and Britannia continue trying to gather their thoughts but can only keep staring at Topaz's body. I can only imagine how hard it must be for Jasper to witness this. What is Topaz's family going through right now? What does District 1 think of Alice and I now that this has happened?

Everything is quiet. Nothing but the roar of the rats below can be heard. I meet Alice's gaze and her head tilts towards the door that exits into the stairs and I know exactly what she means. I simply nod my head in response and she holds out three fingers. She counts down with them and when time is up, we dart for the stairs. This brings Jasper back to reality. Alice takes the lead. As I run out the door, I feel a knife gliding no more than two inches from the right side of my head. The mutts blockade any downward exit we can make, so Alice and I head up. Hopefully, we can hide for a bit and then escape.

Out of the door emerges Jasper with Atticus and Britannia tailgating behind him. Jasper's eyes are moist with anger. He seeks revenge, and so do Atticus and Britannia. I guess I should have seen this coming. The tributes from 1 and 2 almost always stick together, leaving the ones from 4 as the third wheel.

Knives and spears fly in Alice and I's direction. One of Britannia's axes hits the wall about two feet from Alice. As I run up the stairs, I flip my backpack over my shoulder to get my remaining knives. Only seven are left. Before I can get them out, my foot misses a step and I trip. Four of my knives slide off the stairs and plummet down hundreds of feet into the crowd of mutts, never to be seen again.

I see Atticus, Jasper and Britannia just a floor behind us. Jasper prepares to launch his last spear, but before he can, Alice sends her last knife into his right hand. The spear exits his grip and follows my knives back down to the ground. Jasper quickly pulls the knife, which has managed to almost split his hand in half, out and throws it at us with his inexperienced left hand. I easily deflect it with a large piece of cement from the walls and continue running.

As I run, I send two of my last three knives in the other Careers' direction. One digs itself in Britannia's right hip. Alice and I keep rising higher and higher. No more weapons are launched. We must all be on a limited supply.

"We can't keep running! We need to hide!" Alice says loud enough for me to hear but not catch the others' ears. When we reach the eighty-third floor, Alice tries to open the door that exits out of the stairs but it seems to be locked. I somehow manage to kick the copper door down. Must be the adrenaline. We run into a giant room that seem to be several offices. Desks and papers are spread all around the room. Pillars reach from the ceiling to the floor. The outer walls are nothing but large windows.

Alice and I run to the windows. From here, I can see most of the arena. There's nowhere to hide. My mind searches for a way for us to escape but finds nothing. I hear to door hit the wall and turn to see them. Jasper has no weapons and what is left of his hand continues to bleed. Britannia carries her last axe and Atticus wields a sword. My hand grips my last knife and Alice holds the small bloody trident that was used to slay Topaz.

About a hundred feet of desk and paper stand between us. My heart starts racing. This is it. This is where my body, or what remains of it, will be picked up by the hovercraft and transported back to District 4.

Jasper runs at us. Atticus and Britannia follow. I prepare to have to fight for my life in a few seconds. Blood is about to spill when a deafening sound stops all of us. It reminds me of the blast heard yesterday, only, this one isn't coming from far. This sound is coming from beneath our feet. The building begins shaking, the same way the ground did earlier today when the rats stampeded. Dark clouds of smoke and flames reach up the east side the building. All the windows shatter and building begins shaking harder. Bursting metal fills my ears and I see Britannia and Atticus tuck their weapons away. Alice and I do the same.

A Gamemaker trap! This is why the rats stopped. The Capitol audience must be on the edge of their seats now. They must have been waiting for this. The moment the Careers turn on each other. But what kind of trap is this? Is the building catching of fire? My questions are quickly answered.

The building begins to tilt. At first, the tilting is slow, but then it's quicker. The view outside the west window was made up of the other Tower and the city just moments ago. Now, all I can see is the lower half of the other Tower and the streets below where the rats still reside. We are inclined at possibly a twenty degree angle.

None of us have anything to hold on to and we begin sliding across the floor to fall to our deaths. I see Alice get a hold of several wires that hang from the ceiling and stops sliding. Britannia and Atticus do the same and save themselves. A desk gets tangled between several pillars and I glide right into it. My sleeping bag detaches from my back and falls off the building. Just as I begin to give a sigh of relief, I see the nearly unrecognizable Jasper coming towards me. I throw a fist into his face which sends him sliding further down, but he takes hold of my arm drags me down with him.

We end up on another pillar. Jasper lands on top of me and completely pins ever part of my body down. "Daniel! Daniel!" I can hear Alice screaming my name. Britannia and Atticus have their eyes set on her and I yell at Alice to escape, that we'll meet up at our base. Alice climbs into the ceiling and Atticus and Britannia disappear after her. Jasper and I are left alone.

"I'm going to kill you!" he screams at me and his hands go to my throat. The air begins to get heavy and I feel life begin to leave my body. This is my end.


	18. Chapter 18

The pain from his hands and lack of oxygen make it hard to think. Jasper's left hand does most of the choking. What remains of his right is trying but not succeeding. I'm not sure how long he has been choking the life out of me. By now, my vision is blurry and my lungs feel as if they'll explode at any moment. I struggle and struggle to free myself but Jasper holds me down tightly, especially at my arms. I had imagined his body on mine several times, but never like this. And when I did, he was the good looking guy from District 1, not this mutated monster that's dying to kill me.

"So this is where you die, huh? I hope Alice enjoys seeing your pretty face in the sky tonight." Jasper taunts. I want to say something back but I can't. I know I only have a few more minutes of life left. I can feel myself slipping away. The end is near. I've just about given up all hope. And then Jasper makes a fatal mistake.

Maybe he thinks I'm too weak do anything. Maybe he thinks I'm already at death's door. Maybe he wasn't thinking at all. Jasper moves his body to my left side and continues choking me. My right arm is now free! I gather all the strength left in me and, without warning, deliver the strongest blow I can give right to his nose. Blood sprays my hand. I hear a loud cracking sound and know his nose is broken. My hit knocks Jasper off the pillar we are situated on.

I'm free! I cough and spit, trying to regain full consciousness and oxygen back in my blood. Jasper's screams are all I hear and I turn to see him sliding across the floor, taking shards of glass in his skin, and fly out the shattered window. He falls hundreds of stories, down to the rat-infested streets. Jasper's cries quickly fade away and are outlived by his cannon.

How overwhelming this all is! The stampede of rats. The collapse of the building. Topaz and Jasper's deaths. My near demise. Too much has happened in too little time. Now I know Seneca Crane will have amazing feedback for his first Games. He's giving his Capitol audience what they want. Our suffering. Hopefully the audience is satisfied and no more horrors are hurled my way. I need to rest. I close my eyes and lay on the pillar for several minutes, regaining my breath little by little. It's actually quite difficult and I fear that Jasper might have really damaged me. Hopefully nothing important was harmed. I let out several words to see if I can still speak. I sound horrible, but everything seems fine. Everything besides the pain. My throat is throbbing with intense pain. I can't imagine what Topaz felt when Alice ripped out her throat. Alice!

My eyes swing open. Alice is out there somewhere and Atticus and Britannia are trying to kill her! I have to find her as soon as possible! I crawl across the pillar and get a hold of several wires that hang from the ceiling. My weakened arms force the rest of me up and I find a trail where things have been moved and thrown aside. I run on the pathway for a minute and end up at dark area full of machinery covered in dust and cobwebs. Light gapes from above my head and I climb up. A sign to my far left tells me I'm now on the eighty-fourth floor. Along the walls are what almost appear to be dents and cuts, almost resembling large teeth marks. No doubt that they came from Atticus and Britannia's weapons. At the large window is a long, thick chunk of metal that extends from one Tower to the other. Alice must have ran through here so I will do the same.

Crossing to the other Tower is actually challenging. The metal is only ten feet wide and I don't dare to even look down. I walk with my chin up and eyes on the clouds. Big mistake. Parts of the metal stick out and cause me to trip! I begin to panic and hold on as tight as possible. I fall right on the edge with my head and left arm sticking out in the naked wind. I can see the mutts squirming away, back into the sewers. Their job must be done. Slowly, I crawl to the center of the metal and in the direction of my destination.

I jump into the building and let of a huge sigh of relief. How lucky am I not to have fallen? I take several moments to calm down and inspect the area. An exact replica of its twin tower. I run for the stair case and bolt down the stairs. I can't wait to be on the safe ground! But then again, there is no such thing as safe here in the arena.

The pain left behind by Jasper causes me to have to stop often to let air journey into my lungs. It takes me an hour to get all the way down. By the time I reach the lobby, night has invaded. The sky has become an ocean of stars and a new moon.

I walk past a large broken mirror in the lobby and see the first sight of me since I left The Capitol. My neck is now almost purple with the hand prints Jasper left behind. The tracker jacker stings are still very noticeable. My left hand is wrapped in dirty bandages and my right hand is swollen from punching Jasper. My body has yet to recover from the crow attack that occurred about a week ago. I look nothing like I did the morning I arrived in the arena.

The cool breeze outside blows in from the west. I'm tempted to take the highway back to small park Alice and I declared our base, but I stand nearly weaponless and if anyone finds me, I'll be easy to eliminate. I walk from avenue to avenue instead, seeking concealment behind the cars, trees, and overgrown bushes. Surely, Alice has escaped from Britannia and Atticus. No cannons besides Topaz and Jasper's were fired.

It's odd knowing that Jasper and Topaz are now dead. Odd in the sense that I can't help but to feel sad that they are gone, yet happy. When I first met them, they seemed like the nicest people in the world. When they died, I truly despised them. With them gone, District 1 has been knocked out of the competition. That leaves eight of us. I go over in my head who is left. Atticus, Britannia, Alice, myself, Alto, Baron, the boy from 10, and the girl from 12.

The walk is uneventful. I'd been expecting an attack of some sort but it never arrives. The time must be nine or ten. The night is still young and anything could happen, so I keep on high alert. It takes me almost an hour to reach the park where Alice and I agreed to meet if we ever separated. As I walk through the trees I whisper her name loudly. No response. I enter the clearing where we had been earlier today, hoping to see her. What I find instead only causes me to fall to pieces.

Alice's backpack small trident lays alone in the ground, covered in smears if blood. The backpack looks as if it has been ransacked. A trail if blood leads into the trees. I pick up Alice's things and run for the woods. "Alice!" I call out in panic. My heart races a thousand miles a second and I feel tears rising to my eyes like never before. "Alice!" I scream. Where could she be? Where could Britannia and Atticus be? I am in complete hysteria. "Alice!" I cry once more, not caring to be heard by everyone in the arena. A few seconds later, I find her.

She lies on the ground with her back to a tree. Her hands clutch her stomach. I see nothing but blood emit from it, creating a small pool beneath her that tells me she's been bleeding for some time. "Alice!" I scream! Tears have now created waterfalls on my face. I throw her stuff aside, run to her side and take her in my arms. My black pants and shirt stain with her blood.

"They found me." Alice lets out, nearly silent. Her voice is weakened. She removes her hands from her abdomen and I see the deep cut. A cut that can't be healed. What could have caused such a wound? "Atticus' sword." Alice answers, almost as if she has read my mind. Tears flow out of her eyes. I don't do anything but hold her. What else can I do? We both know this is the end. By now, she's lost too much blood. I brush her soft blond hair out of her face and kiss her forehead. I cradle Alice in my arms, knowing that this where she will spend the remainder of her life in. "It really hurts, Daniel." she lets me know. I don't know how to comfort her.

"Alice, go to sleep. I promise, it'll be over soon." I reply. Not the best comforting speech, but what else can I say? That she'll be fine? Not at all! I spend the next minute cradling her as I whimper. Alice closes her beautiful blue eyes and says one last thing to me. "Don't let them win."

"I swear I won't." I say. I want to beg her not to leave me alone. To get up and run back home with me, but I can't. Her head leans on my shoulder and her breathing begins to slow. Slowly, her chest stops rising. A cannon goes off and I know Alice is gone. My arms tighten around her as my full emotions are let loose. How could I let this happen? How could I leave her to alone?

I give her forehead one last kiss. "I'm going to miss you." I whisper in her ear as I set her down. She seems at rest now. No one can hurt her now. No longer does she have to suffer the cruelty of the Games. She has finally found peace. I consider joining her. Now that she's gone, I feel as if I don't have much to live for. But I do. I have a whole life to get back to in District 4. And I must win. Not just for myself, but both of us.

I retrieve the small trident from a couple meters away and place it in between her hands. My wet eyes take a last look at her face. I know that I have to go now, but I can't. There's a force that always brings loved ones together. That force keeps me here now. But the Gamemakers will want me to clear out to retrieve her body.

I rise to my feet and turn away from her. I take small steps in the direction I came from. Stop for a while and then continue on my way. There's nothing left to do but to walk away. And it's the most difficult thing I've ever had to do. I fight back the temptation of looking back, knowing that, if I do, I'll never leave. I collect the water purifier from her backpack, which was hidden in a small sack, and do the impossible. I walk away.

The hoots of the owls silence. The hovercraft has arrived. I just continue walking and soon enough, the hooting continues. Now she really is gone. My heart is on the floor. Tears sting my eyes. My throat screams in pain from the injuries inflicted by Jasper and the knob brought on by the tears. I find myself grasping on to the sapphire necklace Alice gave me. I was told to never let the Capitol audience see me like this, that I'll be viewed as weak. But I don't care anymore. The cameras can see me as the mess I am right now.

I exit the park. I'm reluctant to continue, not knowing where to go. I head west. Uncharted territory. Walking back south will only torment me with optimism of finding Alice waiting for me somewhere. The west isn't full of sorrow and regret yet. An hour into my journey the anthem begins. The Capitol seal appears, followed by the faces of Topaz, Jasper and Alice. Then their faces disappear, never to be seen again. Alice's death is too much for me to bear. I'm not cut out for this. I'm not like the other Careers that see the deaths of others as an achievement. I fall to the ground and spend the remainder of my consciousness mourning in the middle of the street. I'm out in the open but I don't care. Quite frankly, death would probably be a blessing.

Slowly, I slip into my dreams. Alice waits for me at the park. We meet and go down to the stream in the woods. Our time together is happy and joyful until the sun goes down and she tells me she has to go home. She gives me a hug and disappears into the night.

I awaken in a small pool of water. Dried tears cover my face. My eyes are still puffy and damp from last night. I turn to see if Alice has awakened but find only empty ground. "She's not here anymore" I tell myself. Where has she gone? She left me so alone. I feel so abandoned and angry. I can't do anything but to blame myself for her death. I should have found her earlier. I should have been there to save her.

The sun sits in the middle of the sky. I see the brightness but I feel no warmth. The day suddenly looks grey. The songbirds are out and about but I hear nothing. It's as if time has stopped. Maybe I should just wait here and let nature take its course. Why wait for nature? I have a perfectly good knife in my backpack. I sit up and hesitate to unzip my pack. A small sound behind me startles me when I finally reach for the blade. Quickly, I throw the knife in the direction if the sound. The blade hits a car and bounces onto the floor. I see a crate about five feet long and two feet wide waiting for me. Another sponsor gift. And a big one at that! I haven't seen a sponsor gift this big since Baron and Alto burned the Career's supplies and we received crates of food.

I get on my feet and walk past the gift to retrieve my only weapon. Not only do I feel alone, but also defenseless. If another tribute were to appear, they could take me out easily. My knife is the only thing I have. Five spear heads are tucked away in my backpack, but they're useless without a shaft. But I could easily make one out of the wood in the forest.

I remove the parachute from the large metal box and toss it aside. A savory scent escapes the container as I open it. The first thing my eyes catch isn't the amazing Capitol food, but the amazing sliver trident with a piece of paper attached to it. This trident is almost as long as I am tall. The center of the weapon has small sapphires encrusted in it. The smooth sliver glimmers in the morning sun. I gently dab the tip of my finger against the points of the trident. Blood exposes itself to the air. Beautiful _and_ deadly. I set the trident aside and pull off the paper. It's a note from Finnick. I'm not sure he's allowed to do this, so I move under a large red car so the cameras can't see me, and read it.

_Keep your head up, Daniel. Stay strong and I'll see you soon.  
- Finnick_

A small note with huge meaning. People are still rooting for me! Finnick is expecting to see me again! Not only him, but my friends and family in District 4 too. Mom, Dad, Jarrah, Fennell, even Arcas. I take this as a sign that I need to persevere and resist the urge to follow Alice out of the arena. I fold the note and place it in my pocket.

I crawl out from under the car and scan the rest of the cargo. A medium-sized picnic basket carries six loafs of the fancy Capitol bread, four packs of a dozen strawberries, a gallon of fresh water, a small box of matches, and a miniature turkey. It's not until I set eyes on the food that I realize how hungry I am. Next to basket are three rolls of thick rope. The kind of rope I'm used to working with back in District 4. Each rope seems to be at least a hundred feet long. These will certainly be put to good use. Under the picnic basket hide four large fish hooks the size of my head and a hatchet. Finally! Finnick's gift has fully restored any confidence that left with Alice. I wonder who and how many he had to sleep with to get these things for me.

I wield the trident and swing it around, getting into a predator mindset. Not only will I be deadly, but I'll lure them in. I'm sure I'll have no problem seducing the majority of the remaining tributes. I captivated The Capitol without even trying!

I eat a leg from the smoked turkey and a loaf of bread in an attempt to quell my hunger and ignore the pain of food passing through my damaged throat. For now, this will have to do. I do the best I can to shove Alice to the back of my mind, and I head west.


	19. Chapter 19

West is full of promise and success. Unlike south, which is filled with Alice. Or north and east, which are filled with pain and death. As I walk, I cut one of the ropes in half. Then I divide one half into four vaguely equal pieces and tuck the other half away. I spend a five hour walk tying the rope to the ends of the hooks. By the time I'm halfway through midtown, I not only have a knife, a hatchet, and my amazing trident as weapons, but also four hooks that I can swing around and tear apart with.

I make sure to never walk out in the open street. I journey through back allies and the insides of buildings, fearing that my opponents might be nearby. I reach the suburbs as the sun hits the horizon. I find a series of small, square buildings bundled up together with a sign that reads "Recreation Center". That place must have a shower! I can't remember the last time I washed myself. I run in find myself in front of a large billboard that maps out the facility. The billboard informs me of a pool and showers in the back of this building. "They're in the back." I say to Alice. I turn to lead her in, but I see no one. "She's gone." I remind myself in a whisper as my eyes wage war against tears. Tears are winning this battle so I run into the showers. I as I run, I remove my clothing and leave it in the nearby floor with my backpack and trident. The water disguises my weeping.

I've never felt so alone before. I have plummeted into the desolate void to locks in none but myself. Wherever I turn, I expect to find Alice, only to be reminded of her tragic end in my arms. Every time I open my eyes, I hope to see her dark blue eyes, and realize that she's gone. Never again will anyone ever see her. I find Alice's sapphire necklace sheltered in my hands. It's more than her necklace now. It has become the last thing that keeps us together. It has become a beacon of hope. Hope that I'll make it to the end. Hope that, some day soon, I'll return home. Hope that I'll soon see my family and friends back home. What must my district think of everything they've witnessed on the screen? Or should I say, _seen_. I've been the one to witnessed everything.

The showers shimmer with sunlight that flows in through the window the same way it did my last morning in District 4. Instead of washing away my worries, the water against my body brings on pain. It hits my cuts from the crows mutts, my three tracker jacker stings, and my bruised neck with too much force. It tears away the bandages on my left hand, leaving it bare. I endure it for a few minutes. Soap that was gathered from nearby is washed away quickly and my body is the cleanest it has been in days.

I walk out into the room with the pool naked. I take some of the soap from the showers and wash my arena outfit in the pool. Might as well get the blood out of it while I can. I let the audience have a peek at me, hoping to maybe get another sponsor gift soon. The room is illuminated by light that enters through a large hole in the ceiling.

_Please don't let this building fall, _is all that runs through my mind. After yesterday, I take great precaution about going into buildings. But then again, the Towers fell for the entertainment of The Capitol. They won't cause another event like that unless it is to lure tributes together, and the Gamemakers only need to do so when there hasn't been much action lately.

A clock to my far right strikes six in the afternoon. Without waiting for them to dry, I pull my clothes back on. I walk outside to the trees at the back of the building. The sun begins to lower in the sky. I sit down in the ground surrounded by bushes and swing my backpack over my shoulders to inspect my inventory. Bright red catches my eye. The backpack's color would surely give me away to any lurking tributes. I don't know why I hadn't thought about before, but I'll have to camouflage it sometime soon. Hundreds of tributes before me have died because of something as simple as a brightly colored backpack.

Little by little, I set my things in the ground before me. Five loafs of bread. A small, turkey missing a leg. My large water bottle. Four dozen peaches. Matches. The water purifier. Five spearheads. A small amount of bandages. My medicine for the tracker jacker stings. My telescope has been cracked and broken so I leave it in the bushes.

I set the things from my belt on the ground too. My knife. The hatchet Finnick sent me. My large hooks. The three rolls of rope. I place my amazing sliver trident next to all my things. I rise to my feet and take a look at my belongings. I might actually have a chance!

I rub on the remainder of my medicine on my stings and toss away the small metal container. I do the same to my remaining spear heads. They are of no use to me anymore now that I possess a trident. Keeping them would only be a waste of space.

My hunger and thirst set in motion so I drink a bit of my water and eat another leg from the turkey. After feeding, I pack up my things and head on my way. The sun is almost to the horizon. It must be around seven now.

My traveling alternates between walks and jogs to save time. Most of the streets I take that are steep and head downwards to where I'm headed, which only adds to my time saving. By the time the last half-hour of sunlight overlooks the arena, I reach the forest.

About fifteen yards into the trees I find a stream that runs down from the north and then curves to the west. A new supply of water! But for now, I'm well stocked. My backpack still needs to be camouflaged, so I throw it on the ground and gather mud surrounding the narrow stream. The bright red is covered by a dark brown. Now that I have no alliance and I'm all alone, I must take all precautions.

The sun has completely disappeared when I finish disguising my backpack. In its place, small bits of moon and stars appear. Fright runs down my spine. The forest in the dark terrifies me. I keep aware of the surrounding forests. I fear that the paper tributes or the tall shadow figures might make a reappearance. I'm somewhat sure that when I saw them, they were nothing more than hallucinations brought on by the venom of the tracker jackers. But they were so vivid and real.

My fear is ignored and I begin to look for a place of rest. Sharp pebbles and wild animals make the forest floor undesirable so I begin to search for a tall tree. Following the stream, I find a tree that could easily reach a hundred feet in the air. Maybe more. With great cation, I begin to climb.

Back in The Academy, the instructors never fully cover skills such as scaling. This is something that I had learned from the extra training with my dad. It's not that they don't teach these things there. It's just that most people only bother to learn how to use weapons and earn a large ego from it, which has been proven to be fatal in the arena before.

Ascending the tree is a bit harder than I initially thought. Lifting my heavy body and gear isn't the problem. Neither is the limited places to cling to while I climb. The struggle comes from the pain in my hands. My left hand has yet to fully heal from the cactus injury that happened a few days ago and my right hand is still swollen and hurt from hitting Jasper's face yesterday. I do to it the same I did to the fear and pay no attention to the pain.

The pain isn't my only obstacle. I have practice scaling, but not this particular type of tree with a rough skin of bark. In District 4, I climbed the many palm trees that are adorned with coconuts, or the rock walls lining the ocean at the edge of the district that have been smoothened by the water.

I get to a point where I reach about eighty feet in the air. The branches begin to get leaner and leaner. I push through until I reach a height of, possibly, a hundred feet. The trees around me have been left down below. From here I can get a look at the smoke and remains of the nuclear power plant. They bare a strong resemblance to the smoking ruins of District 13 that the Capitol regularly airs for the districts to see. A reminder of what happens when we rebel.

I attached myself to the tree with my rope and settle in to sleep. For about an hour, I try to rest but insomnia prevents me from doing so. After many unsuccessful attempts to fall asleep, I decide to do some labor to tire myself out.

Slowly, I descend back to the ground. I sit down besides the tree and pull out my rope. I undo the twirls of the thick rope and begin making nets. Back in District 4, my father used to have me make the nets for his boat crew. I constantly used them when I fished too. I've been told I have clever fingers. Only, these nets will not be used to catch fish, but instead, my competition. I believe Finnick did the same seven years ago during his Games.

Working with the ropes fires up more pain in my hands, but it also brings a sense of home that I haven't had since I arrived at The Capitol. I've finished putting together a total of seven nets by the time the anthem begins to play. No faces follow the Capitol seal. No deaths today. In the next couples hours, I use up the rest of my rope and end up with fifteen more nets. Twenty-two in total.

I set up the nets, except for one, as traps around the stream. Each about seventy yards apart. I'll have to make more traps when I awaken later to cover the empty ground. I assemble my net traps in a way so that when enough force passes on them, the net encloses and the victim is lifted into the air, unable to move. I made sure to make them as tight as possible.

As I'm about to turn back towards the my tree, a faint red glow in the far distance catches my eye. The light seems to be coming from deeper in the woods. For all I know, this could be a Gamemaker trap and following it would only lead to certain death. But curiosity gets the best of my and I walk in the direction of the faint red light. Slowly, the faint light becomes brighter. I walk about several hundred yards west. The light continues to glow and I start to realize this isn't a Gamemaker trap. It's another part of the arena! About a mile from where I entered the forest awaits lava.

I walk out into barren dirt ground. The forest has stopped and plain land continues for a hundred feet. After that is a direct fall into the lava. I walk to the edge of the cliff and see the burning substance hundreds of feet below me. About fifty feet in front of me, the barren land continues enduringly.

My mind flashes back to the first day of the arena. Jasper and I stood atop the building, inspecting the arena with our telescopes. I remember seeing the forest and the empty terrain continuing on. The tall trees must have hidden the lava pits.

My head looks left and right. The lava pits seem to curve off in the distance. I bet these things surround the entire arena. And if that's the case, I'm at the edge. A small rock is picked up by my hands and thrown directly in front of me. It flies over lava and I expect it to land on the other side. A small bolt stuns it and the stone is chugged back in my direction. Not with enough force though, as the small rock plummets in the lava.

Another discovery! I could use this lava to my advantage. But I'll have to be careful. Hopefully, the Gamemakers put this here with the purpose of killing. Otherwise, I could end up in a lot of trouble for "outsmarting" The Capitol and making them "look bad".

Enough has happened tonight so I head back to my tree with the one net I didn't set as a trap. The climb is even harder now. Working with the rope has added to the pain in my hands. It's nothing I can't handle, though. I ascend the tree just as I did several hours ago, arrive at my branch high above the ground, and transform the net into a comfy hammock, attaching the ends to nearby sturdy branches.

I settle to rest in my new hammock. My thoughts are of home while I wait for fatigue to kick in. Everything that I've been through has been seen by my family and friends. Right now, they all must be in bed. If the cameras showed it, my family missed me discovering the lava and setting up my new traps. I wonder how they been ever since I left. What have they been doing? I know that they must have been interviewed today. The Capitol usually sends reporters to the districts of the final eight tributes to interview their friends and families. Since the final ten quickly shortened to the final seven, The Capitol will only have seven different sets of interviews instead of eight this year.

Drowsiness finally finds me and begins to take me down. I take a last look at my view. It reminds me so much of the night before we were thrown in the arena. The night Alice and I were on the roof of the Training Center. Before I can think any further and fall back into depression, fatigue knocks me out.

I wake up several times during the night and almost fall off my hammock. Luckily, the rope keeps me tided in. Every time this happens, I end up positioning myself back on and fall back asleep. When I wake up for the fifth time, the first rays of sunlight pierce the horizon. I assume it must be around five or six in the morning. I've only had about three hours of sleep but I feel rested enough. I climb down to check on my nets. If a tribute wasn't caught, maybe a large animal was and I'll have enough to eat for several days.

For the next hour I check every net. Nothing to bag. The traps have not been tampered with. I walk back to the edge of the arena, just to confirm that the lava pits are indeed there and it wasn't just a crazy dream I had. The pits are still there. I sit in the dirt ground seven yards from the edge and have breakfast. My hunger devours a loaf of bread, another turkey leg, and half a dozen strawberries. I go ahead and drink the rest of my water. I can refill at the stream.

I walk back into the forest and follow the stream back to my tall tree. The water purifier is pulled out and I dip it in the cool water. I run my now-wet fingers across my mouth, filling in the cracks and cuts of my rough, chapped lips. I place the purifier next to myself as I wait for the waste to leave the water, passing the time by tossing small ragged pebbles into the glistering stream. The birds chirp and several animals roam around. The tall trees shield me from the sun with the shadows casted by their branches. I lie down and close my eyes. The smooth breeze runs its fingers through my body, drying the hot sweat and soothing the light sunburns I have accumulated. This is one of the most relaxing moments I've had in the arena. Several minutes pass and an ominous feeling begins rising in me. The birds have stopped chirping and I hear no sound other than air singing and the leaves of the trees dancing in the wind. Apprehension swings my eye lids open and I see hundreds of eyes glaring down at me. The tree branches have been covered in black. Crow mutts. Moments pass as we stare at one another. One of the mutts lets out a loud caw and the flock swarms down.


	20. Chapter 20

My lips let out a curse word as my hands shove the water purifier into my backpack, and I run for my life. So quick is my speed that the forest blurs past me. The caws are not too far behind me. Suddenly, I feel a stab on my lower back. The same spot Topaz had a hole drilled into her. Old wounds are reopened. Four cuts have been inflicted on my body. The mutts seem to crash against the trees and get held back. Running out into the open city would be completely idiotic, but I do it anyways. I need to take cover in a building.

I exit the woods in the same spot I entered. Blood gushes out of my left arm and leg, lower back, and the back of my neck and leaves small prints on the pavement below. As I run I turn my head to view the mutts behind me. The same black cloud that attacked my Career pack a few days after entering the arena pursuits me now, chanting the same eerie orchestra of caws I heard that day.

There always has to be a rock! Or maybe it wasn't a rock. Maybe it was debris from a building or concrete from the streets. Either way, I don't spot it soon enough. The object catches my foot and I go tumbling down. Small pain bursts in my right knee. Immediately, I'm back on my feet. A print of blood is left behind where my knee hit the floor.

I run with my scraped knee through the upward street. My fall gave a few of the crows time to catch up. Caws pierce my ear and the black birds get a hold of me. Beaks and claws begin slashing at my skin. I kill with my trident in my right hand and my hatchet in my left, but every time I get rid of one, two show up in its place. It doesn't stop me from chopping and impaling all the mutts I can. But there's too many! They are overpowering me! So many times have I given up hope in critical times like this. Not now. Though, I'm on the ground, I continue swinging my hatchet into the predators. My trident falls too far for me to get it. I turn my head to the side and extend my right arm for it but it is beyond my reach. When I turn my gaze back up to the sky, a crow perches itself on my neck. Its void-like eyes meet mine. It quickly jabs its sharp beak into my face. An inch below my left eye. This thing is going to leave me blind! I must kill it now!

Before I even get the opportunity to thrust the hatchet into it, an out-of-nowhere arrow punctures the bird. Several other crows are taken down with more arrows. I get up, still being attacked, and run. I don't leave before picking up my trident. I run several yards when I hear a loud female voice.

"Over here!" The voice calls out. I turn and see her. The girl from District 12. Hazel is her name, I think. Half of her body step out of a building. Her bow in hand and loaded. For a second, I believe she wants to shoot at me. I prepare to hurl the hatchet at her, but then her arrow goes into a mutt I didn't spot. Had the arrow missed I would probably be missing and eye now. "Hurry! You'll be safe in here!" she yells. I hurry to her but I keep my trident ready in case this is some sort of plan to kill me. I dart through the door with four mutts still clinging on to me. She quickly shuts it behind me and the flock hits the door. I'm sure these things can't take down a door the way the rats did.

I quickly kill the remaining crows. My eyes look around and see nothing. The room is very dark. The curtains that hang on the window let in very little light and the fact that I was just in the bright sunlight doesn't help. My eyes take time to adjust, but I always keep my trident ready in case 12 decides to go for the kill. When I can finally see, I find Hazel on the other side of the large green room. Her olive skin is covered in dry blood. Her long brown hair seems to be unharmed. Her hazel eyes stare me down. She was properly named.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asks, her bow loaded, pointed at me. Why does she care? I'm just some tribute from 4 that was put here to kill her. I don't answer her question. I notice that her reason for having her bow ready is my defensive pose with my trident pointed at her. I ease up but never let my guard down.

"Yes. I think so." I say. My eyes lock on hers until she lowers her weapon. I do the same. "Why did you help me?" I ask. Honestly, I am extremely confused as to why she helped me. Had our roles been reversed, I'd probably have just watched her die through the window of this building. I wouldn't even consider going to her aid.

"I was actually expecting a 'thank you'." she remarks. I wait to see a smile that tells me she's kidding but I don't receive it.

"Thanks." I say. I look at my surroundings. The small green room has a large counter in the back wall. The entire front wall is made of glass but is covered in curtains, which allow very little light in. Enough for me to see. Mannequin parts are scattered on the floor by the window. Racks with clothing fill the remainder of the room.

"Before we go any further, why don't you try these on?" She reaches for a black shirt and pair of pants that look very familiar, and tosses them over to me. Every clothing item in this little boutique is black. I realize that the reason she has told me to change is because very little of my clothes remain. Most of my shirt and pants have been shredded by the mutts, exposing my muscular, tan body. The bleeding had subsided. After a couple minutes of silence, the bleeding has stopped all together. The cawing of the crows has disappeared so Hazel decides to remove the curtains.

I now see why the clothes in here are so recognizable. It's the arena outfit that all tributes were to wear! Exact replicas! The only thing missing is the belt. I turn and find a stack of belts on a shelf to my back. Without warning, I completely strip down to nothing and use my shredded clothes to wipe away remaining blood. Hazel gasps and turns her gaze away as soon as possible.

"What's wrong?" Are you sure you don't want a peek?" I taunt. I smile forms on my lips.

"Just hurry." she says as she tries to keep her eyes from staring. Her voice sounds so innocent that I can't help but to laugh. Once the majority of the blood had been removed from my skin, I put on the new clothes. The soft fabric hugs my body.

"So, Hazel. Why the hell did you decide to help me?" I ask as I finish putting on my shirt.

"You know my name?" Hazel seems surprised.

"Why wouldn't I know?" I ask.

"It's just that…you're a Career. I'd figure you wouldn't bother or care to learn anyone's name, besides your allies." Hazel explains. I don't find it surprising that she thinks this. Careers usually don't care for anyone but themselves. "Anyways, Daniel." she says in a way to point out the fact that she knows my name too. I find it strange to hear my name after my solitary day. Hazel continues. "I know what happened. You losing your district partner. And I know you've been alone. I'd figure, why not try to form an alliance with him?" I stare at her, waiting for her words to continue. After a roll of her eyes, she does. "And it'd be a shame to see that pretty face get torn to shreds by the crows."

I accept the compliment with a chuckle. Though I begin to ease up, I never get comfortable. "What makes you think you can trust me?" I ask. She should be worried about me killing her at any moment. I'm sure this District 12 girl is no match for me. But then again, I've learned from Baron and Alto to never underestimate anyone.

"The simple fact that you haven't killed me yet." Hazel replies. It's true. Had I wanted to, I would have terminated her already. "You're also probably the sanest tribute, besides _me_. You're the only person I know that would help pick up a girl who he will fight to the death with." The memory of the first day of training makes its way to me. Britannia knocked Hazel to the floor and walked away with the others, laughing. Alice and I stay behind to help her on her feet.

"Well, you're wrong about the sane part. Right now, all I want is to kill every single one of my opponents." I snap back.

"So why haven't you forced that trident through me yet?" Hazel asks. A smirk forms on her face.

Why haven't I killed this girl yet? How easily would it be to rip her to pieces? But I can't bring myself to do it. Maybe it's because I'm no Atticus. I'm not the one to kill for no reason. But in the little time that has passed since my attack, I come to feel as if I owe Hazel. She risked being attacked by mutts and sacrificed several of her arrows just to save me. Had she wanted me dead, she would have left me there to fend for myself. Maybe I can trust Hazel.

"The company is nice." I answer her question with no further explanation. I pull off my backpack and take out a few strawberries. Hazel eyes immediately light up.

"You _do_ have food!" she yells as if she had been wondering. Now it's clear why she wants me as an ally. She might find me trustworthy and attractive, but she's also been starving.

"Aren't you glad you found me?" I ask. I pass over a few strawberries and she hurriedly places them in her mouth. The fruit's juicy runs down her chin. A sound of pleasure emits from Hazel.

I go over reasons to keep her alive in my head. I don't need her as an ally. I was doing fine on my own. Up until I was attacked by the crows. Huh. Maybe I do need her help. And she did save my life. I owe her, and I could always let someone else kill her. Hazel is also the first person I have interacted with since Alice left me. She provides me company and I find it to be a good enough reason.

I take out more strawberries and we share them. I wave her over to the counter and we sit on the floor with our backs to it as we watch the day go by. I keep my weapons close by.

"How did you get these?" Hazel asks waving a strawberry in her hand.

"I got it from sponsors. But I'm sure we can get some in the forest. I'd found some earlier in the Games." I answer. Hazel eats several more strawberries before saying anything. Her eyes are fixed on nothing else but the food. I can see she hasn't eaten in days, but she eats so calmly. "I thought you'd be hungrier." I finally admit.

"We're used to starving in District 12." Hazel replies so casually as she picks up another strawberry. Before I can question her about her district, she resumes speaking. "Must be nice. Having sponsors to help keep you alive and whatnot." I can't help but to feel insulted. As if she's saying that the only reason I've made it this far is because of my sponsors' help. But I brush it off.

"You haven't gotten anything?" I ask.

"No. I don't think I impressed anyone. And having Haymitch as my mentor doesn't help. He's nothing but a dirty drunk." Hazel answers with an annoyed tone.

I'm astonished that she's made it this far with no sponsors. Without a doubt, I could of survived without sponsors, but only because I've trained in survival. This girl from District 12 has no idea what she's doing and, without any outside help, has managed to secure a spot in the final seven. In fact, I'm shocked she managed to get the hang of the bow in such a short time. Quick learner, I guess.

"You just have to give the audience what they want." I inform her.

"Like what?" Curiosity fills her face.

"Something surprising." I say and, without warning, take her face in my hands and plant my lips upon her. My hands leave her face and reach for her thighs. My lips lead hers with passion. Not that any of this means anything. I had other tributes I'd rather kiss. Had I had the chance, I would have planted many on Topaz and Jasper before things turned sour. I'm simply demonstrating. But she sure seems to enjoy it.

Hazel doesn't pull back so I do it myself. As I do, the small metal container being carried by the parachute hits the window. I look up with a smile. "Told you." I say as I walk to the door. I scan my surroundings before retrieving the container. No sign of the crows. The sun is almost directly above me, staring to descend. Must be around two in the afternoon. I quickly grab the sponsor gift and run back inside. "Let's see what we have here." I say as I open the small box. It's so small, it easily fits in the palm of my hand. I remove the lid and find a small fruit salad inside. "And that's how you get sponsors. Here you go."

"You're giving it all to me?" Hazel asks, her hazel eyes widening.

"Sure. I have enough food for myself anyways." I say as she takes the fruit salad from me. Quite frankly, I only let her have it all because it's not enough to share. At least, by my standards it isn't. She stares at the fruit with delight and begins to feast. A loud yawn escapes from me. Hazel takes note of it.

"Are you tired?" she asks.

"Guess I just haven't had much sleep lately. But I'm fine." I answer.

"You sure? I can keep watch while you sleep." Hazel suggests. An alarm goes off in my head. I don't fully trust this girl, so her offer to stay on guard while I sleep only makes me suspect that she plans to kill me. Or maybe not kill me. Maybe just run away with my food and materials while I sleep.

"No. I can last a little longer." I lie. My few hours of rest are now having an effect on me. Drowsiness is slowly creeping in. I formulate a plan in my head. "I'm fine. I'll just go hunt for a bit." I tell her.

"Can I come?" Hazel asks as if not wanting to leave my side.

"I hunt better alone. It's probably for the best you stay here." I say as I walk out the door. I shut the door behind me and run for the forest a couple hundred yards away. My dried blood still decorates the streets and sidewalks. I enter the trees in the same spot I have been doing so and follow the stream down to my closest net. It takes me a good hour or so to reach it and remove it from its residence. I pack the net in my backpack and walk back to the boutique.

My trident is always ready for action. A Gamemaker trap could go off any moment so I keep wary at all times. Soon I reach the small shop. I walk around the back of the building to reach the door and avoid having Hazel see me return through the window. At the door, I begin setting up my net again. I connect it to the lamppost on the side of the building. By the time I finish reassembling my trap, the sun has begun to set. I step over the trap and enter the door to be greeted by joyful Hazel.

"I didn't have any luck finding anything." I say. A look of disappointment crosses her face. Before she can say anything, I continue. "But I'm extremely tired."

"Oh! Well you can go ahead and rest. I'll keep guard." she says.

"Okay. Just wake me up when you get tired." And with that I begin to drift to sleep. Hazel won't kill me. There's something about her that is too pure. It makes me feel like a murderer, which I am. And now I don't have to worry about her getting away with my belongings either. If Hazel runs with any of my things, the net outside the door will trap her. And if I awake to find her tangled in my net, I will not hesitate to kill her.

Slowly, I reach my dreamland.


	21. Chapter 21

In my dreams, I awaken to find no one around. Hazel has taken off with my things and left me with a deep cut in the stomach. The same place Alice was stabbed in. I try to run out and find Hazel, but I'm losing too much blood. She has left me to die. I crawl out the door to find Jasper. He looks the same way he did before the nuclear power plant blast. His handsome features strike me but they are no match to mine. Jasper picks me up, holds my face in his hands and begins to explore my lips with his. I don't protest. I accept it, more than anything. His hot breath runs through my neck. And then a tremendous pain appears. Jasper's knife has penetrated my throat! I open my eyes and find the paper tributes once again. They dance around me in silence. Their eyes stare far into mine. I rise to my feet and one of the tributes leaps at me.

I awaken from my dream, completely startled and frightened. I jump up, trident in hand, ready to kill. I only discover an alarmed Hazel with a loaded bow pointed straight at me. I realize I must have scared her when I jolted up with a weapon at hand. I drop my trident right away. "I'm sorry. I just had a bad dream." I quickly let her know with my arms raised. Her bow slowly lowers.

"Sorry. I just though...never mind." Hazel says. I know what she thought. That I had changed my mind and was ready to kill her. Aside from almost murdering each other, the fact that she didn't decamp while I slept brings me so much joy.

We quickly settle down. I walk back to the counter and sit on the floor with my back to it. At that moment, the anthem begins. Half of the Capitol seal appears. Why only half? Is there some malfunction going on in the Gamemakers' control room? I then realize that other half of the Capitol seal isn't missing, but merely hidden. Large black clouds, that carry the boom of thunder with them, begin to conquer the skies. The Capitol seal is proceeded by no faces and disappears before being veiled by the clouds.

"Looks like a storm is coming." Hazel says as she positions herself next to me.

"Oh, really? How can you tell?" I put on a big smile to match my sarcastic tone. She gives me a light punch in my shoulder. For a few moments we sit as we watch the cloud approaching. "We need to go over what we have left." I say.

"Okay. Sure." Hazel reaches for her black backpack. I bet she didn't have to worry about it blending in like I did with mine. Hazel pulls out nothing but a stack of seven arrows, two unopened plastic water bottles, and an empty metal water bottle.

"That's _all_ you have?" I ask.

A look of embarrassment showers her face. I didn't mean it as an insult. I am just surprised that she's lived this long with very little. "Yeah. I had a quiver but I lost it a couple of hours after entering the arena. I also had a dozen arrows but I lost five of them. Four during the bloodbath. I lost the fifth one about a week ago. I was in the meadows up north when I ran into Atlas."

"Atlas?" I ask.

"The boy from 10." Hazel answers. So that's his name! Atlas. Hazel continues. "Atlas chased me for several hours, but I got away after I shot him in the leg. He had a scythe that could have possibly came from sponsors. He did score a seven in training."

"And you got an eight! Why hasn't anyone sponsored you yet? Seems unfair to me!" I rant. And I genuinely feel bad for her. Why would she be ignored like this?

"It's because I come from 12." Hazel says as if she is admitting her darkest secret to me.

"So?" I say, probably sounding more ignorant than intended.

"No one ever sponsors the tributes from 12. We are the laughing stock of Panem, Daniel! Have you never noticed how the kids from 12 never make it past the third day? Or how we've only had two winners in the history of the Hunger Games? I'm surprised I've made it this far!" Bits of tears form in her eyes but she holds them back.

I let her calm down for a few minutes. While I wait, I pull out my things and set them on the floor with hers. I place my four loafs of bread, what's left of my turkey, and my half-full bottle of water on the ground. Soon to follow is matches, my remaining bandages, and my water purifier. I keep my trident in hand and my hook in my belt, but put my hatchet and knife next to my other things.

"You have a lot of stuff." Hazel says eyeing the hatchet.

"You want to eat?" I ask. I don't know about her, but I'm starving. Hazel nods her head and I unwrap the turkey. I hand her two loafs of bread.

"How much of it do we eat?" she asks as I begin to try and split the turkey in two with my hands. I'd do it with my knife but there is dry blood on it.

"All of it. If we leave it any longer, the turkey will spoil and besides, we can always restock tomorrow. The forest is five minutes away." I tell her. Hazel closes the curtain and I light a small fire to warm up the turkey. And with that, we indulge in the food.

My belly feels full. We both lie on our backs now, hands clutched to our stomach. We lie so quietly for so long that I start to believe Hazel is asleep. The sound of her voice tells me otherwise. "Hey, Daniel?" she begins.

"Yeah?" I reply without turning my sight from the ceiling.

"How did you get your neck so bruised up?" Hazel asks as she runs her finger in a delicate line across my throat. A slight pain arises.

"Jasper. The boy from District 1. Did you see the two colossal towers a few days ago? When one was falling during the rat stampede?" I let out.

"Yes. I wasn't too far from it. I had to run into a building and climb to the roof to avoid those mutts." Hazel spits out.

"Well Jasper tried to choke me to death up there. I ended up sending him down from that high. He did most of the choking with his left hand. Alice destroyed his right." I shudder at the memories.

"You know, I had been following around 1 and 2 for several days before the stampede." Hazel lets me know.

"Really? How did that happen.?" I ask as my eyes begin to close.

"It happened about four days ago. I heard them nearby and began following them without being discovered. I thought that maybe I could take some of their supplies without being noticed." Hazel begins. I assume she found them the same day Topaz woke up and decided to leave Alice and me behind. Hazel continues. "They found Atlas that night and chased him into what looked like a hospital. Jasper was the only one that was able to catch up to him and pin him to the ground. Atlas managed to escape by stabbing Jasper." So that's why Jasper had a deep cut in his right arm that last day I saw him. "They found Baron and Alto the next day. And chased them north. Later that day, there was a huge explosion that, I guess, Jasper was too close to and suffered different radiation poisonings. He threw up blood several times that night and would complain about massive headaches. I lost them the following afternoon."

The crack of thunder ends our conversation. I hear a loud yawn come from beside me. "You can sleep if you want. I'll keep guard." I say.

No more words leave her mouth. We pick up our things and she drifts to sleep. I stay awake watching the cloud cover the entire sky over the arena. The process takes about an hour. Soon enough, the rain begins. But this isn't normal rain. The water comes down in large amounts, resembling a waterfall more than drops. Water flows into the room and soaks my backpack. I quickly open it and find my ruined bandages and matches. The water has caused them to become soggy and unusable. I toss them aside. Without waking her up, I lift Hazel up to the counter so she doesn't have to sleep in water. As the hours pass, so does the storm. The flood in the room begins to vanish. I wake Hazel and put her on watch when I feel fatigue defeating me. Quickly, I fall into a dreamless slumber.

Sunlight fills the window when I awaken. Hazel sits a few feet from me as she eats the remainder of her fruit salad. She really made that small amount of food last. I can't help but to notice how dirty her pretty face is. I'll make sure to take her somewhere for a quick shower later. She sees I have awakened and extends her arm out at me, a slice of apple in hand. I take it and quickly chew it.

"What time is it?" I ask.

"I'm not sure, but the sun has been out for a pretty long time now." Hazel answers. I walk over to the window and find that the sun has not yet peaked. Must be around ten in the morning.

I remember about my net. How it's still waiting for a victim to catch. Hazel never even went outside! Maybe she is trustworthy. I tell Hazel I'll be back really quick and run out the door. I hear some questioning but she doesn't follow. I tear down the net trap as fast as possible. It only takes me a couple minutes as opposed to the long hour it takes to set up. Once I'm done, I grab the net and, hurriedly, run around the building, to avoid being seen through the window, and back into the forest.

I find the same spot where I had originally set up my trap before. The stream is much stronger today. The rain from last night has caused an overflow and has widened the stream. As I begin to set the net up again, a large dent in the ground causes me to lose my footing and I end up dropping the net in the stream which, right now, seems more like a small river. Without thinking, I follow my net into the water. I'm surprised when I jump in and find that the water reaches up to my chest. The current is strong but nothing I haven't faced before back home. But the net has drifted too far for me to even see it. I'll let it go. I have twenty-one other nets nearby. I drag myself out of the cool water and lay on the wet ground. Mud dirties my new, clean clothes. For a few moments, my eyes are shut and I listen to my breathing. And then I realize, my breathing is all I can hear. Aside from the roar of the powerful stream and the wind hitting the trees, there is no sound of nature. No birds are chirping. No insects are buzzing. No sounds of animals running across the forest. I don't think much of it and head back to Hazel.

The sudden sound of trumpets causes me to jump through the door. The voice of the legendary Claudius Templesmith comes booming down from the skies. "Attention tributes, attention. There will be a feast tonight at the Cornucopia starting at ten. The clocks in the arena will tell you the time. You can choose wether to attend or not, but do we warned. Food is getting scarce. That will be all." His voice stops.

A feast! Tonight at ten! At the Cornucopia! But we don't need to go. Yes, we have ran out of food, but so easily can we restore our supply in the forest. But then again, I felt completely alone in there today. Doesn't matter. I'm sure we can find other things to eat in there.

"Should we should go to the feast?" Hazel quickly asks.

"No. We might just get ourselves killed." I snap back. Hazel doesn't mean much to me. If she were to die, I'd just carry on. But after losing Alice, I can't stand the feeling of loneliness that comes from having no allies. To lose Hazel would only lead me back down that desolate road. "Besides, there's plenty of food in the woods, if you know how to find it."

"Okay." she accepts. We gather all our things and head out. A few minutes of walking leaves us at the forest border. We spend an hour tracking up and down my stream. I make sure to never get Hazel too close to my hidden traps, not want her to either get caught or find out about them. No animals are to be found, at all.

I give up on trying to find meat and focus on edible plants. I know I saw a bush of blueberries two days ago. But I can't find them. I can't seem to find any edible plants. Hazel's limited knowledge of nature doesn't have much luck pinpointing any food either. I eventually come across several mushrooms. At first, I believed them to be safe, but further inspection makes me recognize them as deadly.

Those damn Gamemakers. So this is how they are going to assure we attend the feast. Not just Hazel and I, but the other tributes too. The rain last night only ruined my matches and bandages. No doubt that it ruined any food the others had.

But I never quit looking for food. After a while, hunger makes my stomach roar. Nothing we can consume ever turns out and I begin to lose hope that I'll find any. "Hazel." I finally say, letting the last bits of optimism escape from my fingers. "I think we're going to need to go to the feast." Fear flashes in her eyes. She doesn't say a word, but simply nods. The sun indicates the time is now one-o'-clock. "We better get going. The Cornucopia is many miles from here and I also want to stop by a little place I found to clean ourselves."

"Well, I'm ready. Let's go." Hazel says as she flips her long, brown hair. How she reminds me of Alice when she does this.

We track back the streets towards the center of the arena. Most of our walk is uphill. We spend the long hours talking about our districts. Hazel tells me of a sign they have in District 12. You put the three middle fingers of your left hand to your lips and point them in the air. It's supposed be a sign of thanks, admiration, or goodbye to someone you love. She mentions that one of the biggest problems facing her district is starvation. Hazel also tells me of her time in The Capitol. Apparently, her and her district partner, Garrett was his name, were supposed to stick together to survive for as long as they could. That all went down the drain when Britannia decapitated Garrett during the bloodbath.

I tell her about the horrors I've faced in the arena. Hazel is eager to find out how I got the three lumps on the side of my left wrist, back, and chest. I let her know that they were caused by tracker jackers and how they caused me to lose track of the days. "Thirteen days." Hazel informs me.

We reach the recreation center around six in the afternoon. I lead her past the pool and into the showers. I suggest that we take turns but she insists that it will only waste more time than necessary. We shower on opposite sides of the large room. This way, the steam censors the view of our naked bodies from each other. But I know this doesn't stop her from peeking. I finish first but Hazel soon follows.

The next few hours are spent traveling east to the Cornucopia. The sun soon sets and moon and stars make their appearance. We come across the building Alice and I spent our last night together, pass other buildings I'm familiar with and reach the circular cluster of trees that surround the Cornucopia. I run into the hotel lobby that the Careers first occupied and realize, from a clock on the wall, that Hazel and I are thirty minutes early.

With such a big event, like the feast, approaching, every single person in every district and The Capitol will stay awake to watch. No one will go to bed until they see the casualties resulting from the fight. Feasts always result in deaths. I can only imagine the chaos of betting that must be going on in The Capitol right now.

We approach the Cornucopia with great caution, weapons always ready. Someone might already be here. I walk with my trident in the air, poised to fling it at anyone that crosses my path. No one shows up. Hazel and I are the first tributes to have reached the Cornucopia. Not only have we beat the others here. We also beat the supplies. Nothing's here! I'm starting to think that this whole feast thing was a lie.

I walk Hazel over to a thick bush on the edge of the tree line where we can hide and see what happens without being spotted. We sit in the dark for a pretty long time, not saying a single word. Always keeping our eyes on the golden horn. Finally, the time arrives.

Suddenly, my ears are invaded by the sound of bells. Almost alike the sounds a clock makes to signal the start of a new hour. A total of ten bongs surge through the arena. As the bells ring, a square of the ground at the mouth of the Cornucopia sinks down and comes back up with two large wooden crates. When the ground clicks back into place, the city bursts into light! My eyes are blinded by the brightness. Every light source I can see is illuminating the arena. Buildings shine and streets gleam.

I take a quick looks round the lighted Cornucopia and see no one. I dart forward and Hazel follows close behind, her loaded bow pointed at the trees. We're halfway to the crate when the bells are replaced by the sounds of moans, shrieks, and screams. The cacophony is so frightening, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and my body stiffens. The horrific noises multiply from tens to hundreds to thousands. A putrid smell catches my nose. It's not like garbage. It's not even like a dead animal. It's not like a mouse that hides behind your walls and dies. It's a pungent, sweet, horrifying smell. Unexplainable. I'll never forget it. A shiver runs down my spine when I see them drag themselves through the trees. They appear out of the sewers, buildings, and bushes. It's as if they had been hiding there all along. The sight of the walking dead leaves me paralyzed with immense fear.


End file.
